


CHANGE OF PLANS

by Darkspirit



Series: Lee, the multidimensional traveller [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Abusive Filbrick Pines, Angst, Bill Cipher Being Bill Cipher, Bill Cipher is a Jerk, Canon Divergence - A Tale of Two Stans, Difficult Decisions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Guilt, Memory Erasing Gun, Nightmares, Partner Betrayal, Past Child Abuse, Pre-Gravity Falls, Pre-Portal Incident (Gravity Falls), Self-Hatred, Stan Pines Goes Through The Portal, The Nightmare Realm (Gravity Falls), Torture, Trapped, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2019-09-30 20:59:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 51,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17231102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkspirit/pseuds/Darkspirit
Summary: Three things that Stanford Filbrick Pines never expected during and after the Portal test’s day:1) being the witness of how his assistant and closest friend is swallowed by the same machine he worked so hard to build;2) calling his estranged brother for help to rescue Fiddleford; and3) having his memories erased by his own closest friend while Stanley is still on the other side of the portal.At this point, Ford is 100% sure that the whole world hates him. But hey! At least that’s not the worst he’s going to go through, right?





	1. What to do?

One week… One. Week…

It has passed one DAMN week since that accursed accident and nothing was going the way Stanford expected. If someone had told him THAT day his closest friend would be consumed by the portal and the machine would collapse, he would have ignored them, because he was always prepared for the worst. He was Stanford Pines, a genius, after all. But now, that thought just made him feel nauseous; he should’ve known better! HE SHOULD’VE!

Fiddleford even… He even warned him about the dangers, the risks, the probability of failure a lot of times, and he stupidly shrugged them off! Why wouldn’t he? The portal was a great -no no- the most daring and fantastic idea his muse had given him. It filled him with such pride and honor to be chosen by a wise and benevolent being like Bill Cipher.

_“_ _Just think about it, Sixer. Once this machine is on, the world will change in such a way that everybody will talk about you nonstop. You’ll be the man no one can forget!_ _”_

Those comments were like a blessing for him, and he never stopped romanticizing the utopic scenarios where everything was perfect thanks to Stanford Pines, where the most influential and well-known scientists congratulate him and ask him questions just to be near a legend of a genius. However, not everyone was excited with the portal idea, and for not-everyone, Ford only referred to McGucket.

When he’d told him about the portal, the blueprints and the great changes the machine could cause to the world, Fiddleford was at first shocked, astonished, like being unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing; next, with some time adapting in Gravity Falls and familiarizing with this project, McGucket started working as diligently as Ford and even helped him with the most difficult materials for the portal. Unfortunately, his willingness and excitement didn’t last long; sometime later, Fiddleford began with the questions, the doubts, suspecting every decision or discovery of his – McGucket doubted him! His own closest friend! How dare he?!- and tried to quit or even stop Ford to make him ‘see reason’.

_“Stanford, this idea of yours is too reckless. We don’t even know where the portal leads!”_

_“It’s alright. In every experiment there are risks, but just imagine the infinite benefits to humanity when the machine is ready!”_

However, that didn’t dissuade him from keep trying and the more they argued, the more damaged their friendship was:

_“I’m starting to believe you’re hiding something from me, Ford”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“It’s about every calculation related to the Portal. There are too many flaws, too many negative scenarios which will lead us to a once unimaginable disaster”_

_Stanford laughed “Come on, Fiddleford. Don’t you think that’s exaggerated? I mean, yeah, there are flaws or obstacles, but we shouldn’t take them as bad news but challenges! Our minds are fated to reach the unfathomable”_

_His friend felt his left eye twitching “This is NOT a challenge, Ford! This is a red flag! Red. Flag. Gravity Falls is not a minefield for you to test dangerous and unpredictable machines! There are innocent people living here and you’re just focusing on a delusional dream that can kill us all! See this numbers, Stanford” he showed him a copy of the portal’s blueprints with red numbers and equations double underlined in some parts of it “I checked multiple times, being the most meticulous I can be and the results each time were the same! This project of yours isn’t safe and even working together to create the best safety measures, the dangers of turn it on will still be too big to handle. And… And I at first was amazed when you told me about building some kind of bridge between worlds… But now, this isn’t an attempt to imitate sci-fi movie machines… Stanford, this is madness! The project couldn’t have come from you, there should be something behind all of this. Who are you working for exactly?”_

_Ford showed for just a second a bit of hesitation that didn’t go unnoticed by Fiddleford, which made his throat form a lump at the hurt. He knew people have secrets, that’s something normal, but shouldn’t friends trust each other and be honest despite how bad things could be, especially if the moment is crucial? “What if everything was just a chance? I mean, do you really think I’m not capable enough to come with ideas like this?”_

_“You have a big brain, that I have no doubt about, but you NEED to be reasonable, Stanford. Please, the portal could, no, CAN be your biggest regret”_

_Ford’s face just hardened and he sat up and opened the door of his house “You should rest. Tomorrow we’ll need to be as focused as we can with the rest of the schematics of the portal. Don’t be late” and got Fiddleford out of the shack harshly._

Remembering their last argument before the incident just made him feel worse.

_“Stanford, I’m quitting”_

_“What?! Are you insane? We are so close to finish!”_

_Fiddleford looked at him flatly not knowing if he should laugh, cry or punch Ford at that moment. He just couldn’t believe it but there it was: the big evidence that Ford’s hypocrisy was only getting bigger as his blindness. Here he is trying to get away from what could be the worst mistake of his life and Stanford is calling him insane, even when he has turned from a great scientist to an utterly delirious imbecile with complete lack of self-preservation._

_“I’m not insane. I’m being reasonable. YOU, on the other hand, have lost total control of this project! I don’t know you anymore, Ford…” Fiddleford closed his eyes for a moment, clearly pained for this decision, but what else he could do? His closest friend refused to listen and he didn’t want to stay in the house where he felt eyes watching him, no matter how weird that sounded “Look, it’s not that I haven’t enjoyed my time with you in Gravity Falls; in fact, it’s has been fun and challenging for minds like ours despite the dangerous creatures and weirdness in the forest. And, even I had hopes of seeing how successful this project could turn out to be, but… But not anymore. It’s dangerous. I’m scared about you, Ford! I don’t want to quit knowing that your obsessions are leading you to a disastrous path. And no, I’m NOT exaggerating”_

_“Fiddleford, you can’t be serious! I told you before and I’m getting tired of repeating the same: just because there are risks doesn’t mean we have to give up. Humanity has never done that when science was involved. Why do you think there are people like us? So intelligent and gifted? Easy, to create options, paths, and solutions whenever there is a block. And now is our chance! Besides, even if the portal becomes a success, relishing in the joy of it alone won’t be as satisfactory as it would if I shared the sentiment with you. You don’t have to worry about the safety measures; if you think we haven’t taken that aspect seriously, then we can start right now. Heck, we can work nonstop to cover every point that seems dangerous and start the test once everything it’s settled. So, please, stay”_

_Fiddleford pondered his options for a long time. If he stayed, there would be a chance everything would go right and his doubts would be just that, doubts created by the fear of the unknown. Or things would go to hell because he couldn’t stop Ford’s obsessions with that machine. But if he left, then the portal test would be delayed and everyone would be safe; however, how much would that last? It was quite obvious that with or without him, Ford wouldn’t stop until he turned on the portal and the world would be in peril again. Or maybe Ford will stop trying once he leaves and everything will be fine, but then the only thing destroyed or jeopardized will be their friendship._

_Fiddleford truly treasured him and the moments in which they bonded talking about science, astronomy or playing DD &MD until the night. He didn’t want to let go of those times where everything was easier and funnier, where they could trust each other before the obsessions, weird machines, and premonitions of destruction. However, there was a little part, a little but also jaded, angry and distrustful part of him that only wished to stay away, to not think about the portal anymore, that tried to convince him to leave Gravity Falls no matter if Ford hated him in the end. _

_“WhY sO HeSiTaNt? If ThAt FoOl WaNtS sO mUcH tO rEaCh ThE iMpOsSiBlE aNd DiE tRyInG, tHeN lEt HiM. It sHoUlDn’T bE yOuR pRoBlEm AnYwAy” it said._

_“But, he’s my friend”_

_“YoUr FrIeNd Or YoUr **MaStEr**?”_

_“Now you’re sounding resentful” Fiddleford responded and rolled his eyes mentally._

_“BuT I’m YoU, McGuCkEt. So It’S **YOU** WhO iS rEsEnTfUl”_

_“Me? Why?”_

_“CoMe On! DoN’t PlAy DuMb WiTh YoUrSeLf. HoW mAnY tImEs HaS hE pUt YoU tHrOuGh SoMe kInD oF hElL aNd YoU sTiLl HaD tO pUt Up WiTh HiS sHiT? rEmEmBeR tHe GrEmLoBlIn? StAnFoRd StUpIdLy MaDe A sKeTcH oF ThAt MoNsTeR wHeN yOu ToLd HiM bEiNg In ItS tErRiToRy WaS a BaD iDeA. hOw DiD yOu EnD uP tHaT DaY? EaSy, BeAtEn Up AnD wItH a BrOkEn ArM. tHaT tHiNg AlMoSt GoT yOu WiTh ItS nIGhTmArIsH eYeS iF iT hAdN’t BeEn FoR fOrD, bUt ThE dAmAgE wAs DoNe. AnD wHaT aBoUt ThE sHaPeShIfTeR? YoU wArNeD hIm ThE sPeCiMeN cOuLd Be DaNgErOuS nO MaTtEr HoW cUtE iT lOoKeD fRoM tHe StArT, aNd YoU wErE rIgHt In ThE eNd, WeReN’t YoU? tHaT mOuNsTrOuSiTy CoUlD hAvE eScApEd If It WeReN’t FoR yOuR iDeA oF CrEaTiNg A sEcReT mEsSaGe FoR yOu AnD tHaT iDiOt Of StAnFoRd, aNd YoUr PrEcAuTiOnS bY uSiNg FoRd’S cRoSsBoW. aNd NoW hE WaNtS yOu tO HeLp HiM oPeN a PoRtAl ThAt CoUlD uNlEaSh DeStRuCtIoN, bUt FoRd DoEsN’t CaRe At AlL! It’S aLwAyS **HIM** aNd **HIS GOALS** nO MaTtEr ThE cOnSeQuEnCeS. tO tOp It aLl, He HaSn’T tOlD aNyThInG aBoUt ThE TrUe OrIgInS Of tHe MaChInE! DoN’t YoU tHinK iT’s UnfAiR tHaT wHiLe hE aBuSeS oF YoUr TrUsT aNd fRiEnDsHiP yOu cAn’T ReCeIvE mOrE dEtAiLs Of wHaT kINd Of ReSoUrCeS fOrD Is ReLyInG tO oR bE On tHe SaMe PaGe As HiM iNsTeAd Of BeInG In ThE sHaDoWs?”_

_Fiddleford hated to admit it but, despite the hate and coldness in those comments, the little voice was right. What had Ford done for him exactly that wasn’t putting him in danger just for science? Many times, he has tried to knock some sense into him about that thing he desires so much to complete. Heck, he even has the balls to hide things from him that could be of utmost importance! He’s his closest friend, his partner! Wasn’t he smart and trustworthy enough to know where he got so much information from?_

_Besides, what does he really want to accomplish with the portal? Fame, money, be the savior of the world? Ford could reach those goals by using the prototype thesis he made for him and show his findings to the scientific community. But it seems that that is not enough for his friend. Fiddleford could feel it with just looking at how obsessively concentrated Ford always worked on anything related to this project. It was like his life depended completely on it. Wouldn’t that be a sign that is better to quit, to move on to something healthier? But, what if he’s just paranoid? Sure, there are a lot of risks and unknown variables in the blueprints; the reason could be that the machine needs more improvements and be checked more carefully, so…_

_Jesus Christ! He didn’t know what to do! He didn’t want to stay in that house building what could be a path to the world’s end but he didn’t want to lose his friendship with Ford and let him make something tremendously stupid either._

_“CoMe On, DuDe! TaKe A DeCiSiOn AlReAdY! fOrD aNd I aRe GeTtInG tIrEd Of YoUr HeSiTaTiOn” complained the little voice._

_Fiddleford looked at Stanford’s hopeful and somewhat desperate face and let out a big sigh “Ok, Ford. Ah’ll stay. But!” then he stopped his friend from talking “But you’d better promise me there will be no backfires or accidents, that you will focus on safety measures and tell me everything I need to know so when we test the portal, there are no casualties”_

_“I promise. Don’t worry Fiddleford, you won’t regret it” Ford smiled at him more relieved._

That was the last conversation they had, 5 days before testing the portal. They did everything they could do to make it safe and subtle, after all, if any of the townsfolks got suspicious or found out what the two were doing, the authorities wouldn’t stop until putting them behind bars. Every aspect was checked and improved: the materials, the fuel, the electricity, the command buttons, the portal’s stability. Fiddleford and he didn’t sleep until the last day to have enough energy to turn on the machine. And even so, why? Why?

-Why the fuck everything ended up like this?!

Ford yelled and hit furiously the table of the kitchen with both hands. This shouldn’t have happened! It was a mistake or a nightmare even! His eyes, bleak and exhausted, tried to hold the imminent tears back; all his body was covered in sweat for many days while the tension in his muscles only worsened his stress; his stomach demanded desperately for some food or water; however, he ignored them all. His poor care of personal hygiene was nothing compared to what Fiddleford might be experiencing… Alone, scared, confused, crying for his friend’s help.

Haha, friend, what a great joke. He couldn’t even fulfill his promise to McGucket of preventing disaster in the portal test day and now he had the nerves to still call himself a friend? What kind of friend let a portal go out of control and consume his partner? What kind of comrade doesn’t have a plan B to stop the worst from getting to his closest friend? The more he thought about it, the tighter his hands pulled his hair. He needed options, he needed a plan.

The portal was half-destroyed, many of the fuses had burnt, there was next to nothing of fuel. Fuck! There were too many things to take care of and little time to rescue McGucket. What the heck he could do? Asking for help would put the portal’s existence in danger and, honestly, Gravity Falls’ townsfolks weren’t the brightest people in the world; summoning Bill would be a good idea, but he’d tried endlessly and he always got the same answer: silence. Which brought him to a new series of questions: where on earth was Bill? Why wasn’t he responding to the summonings? Was there some kind of miscalculation while trying to meet him in the Mindscape? But he had made every step correctly, so what was the problem?

Had bill gotten tired of him for his delay in completing the portal? Will his muse have seen how much he had failed when Bill expected from him to be and do always the best? No, that couldn’t be, could it? Sure, Bill thought of him as a genius, the man who will change the world as he always said to encourage him, so it was understandable that his other closest friend was disappointed. However, that didn’t mean he had to abandon him, well, if that fear of his was true. It wasn’t his fault this happened either; he didn’t know this was going to happen! What other options did he have? Ford looked for them inside of his head while ignoring the hateful voices that told him what a big disappointment he was, but almost all the alternatives were negative or risky:

  1. Rebuild and reopen the portal. However, that would take a lot of time and he didn’t know if Fiddleford was still alive.
  2. Give up and hide the journals. That was the worst. He couldn’t just leave his friend in some kind of hell or whatever dimension. What about Fiddleford’s family? His wife could get suspicious because of his disappearance or believe he abandoned them, his son would be heartbroken. Besides, he couldn’t just get rid of his life work; all the information he put in the journals, hidden from the world like it was a waste. It would be the biggest insult to all those years of research.
  3. Call someone of the family to help him rescue Fiddleford. This decision was a difficult one. He couldn’t remember the last time he talked to Ma or Shermie or…



Or knew something about Stanley. But from all the family, those three were the only ones who treated him kindly. Maybe he could call Shermie and explain him the situation, but he was always busy because of his job as a teacher. And he didn’t want to see his reaction once he told him about how his research assistant disappeared. There was another option, though: Stanley. However, the more he thought about it, the angrier and more nervous he got.

Wait a second. Nervous? Why should he be? It’s not that Stanley refusing to help him is the worst that could happen. In fact, it should be the opposite: HIS TWIN should be afraid of the prospect of him not wanting to talk anymore. After all, his brother made a big mess and instead of apologizing and trying to fix it he just said:

_“Although if you think about it, maybe there’s a silver lining. Huh? Treasure hunting?”_

Treasure hunting?! For real?! Stanley just ruined his chance, the ONLY chance he had to study in the best college of the country -WCT- and his best response was this?! Sailing around the world was just a childhood dream! Sure, it was funny and great when they were children, but it was just a hobby in the end. They couldn’t make it real, and it was time for him to show everyone he was more than what people in Glass Shard Beach used to think of him; it was time for him to seize the moment and reach new places! But, did Stanley accepted and supported it? NO!!! He sabotaged his project and future just because he couldn’t stand the fact that he was going on his own path! So, why should he call him? What if Stanley sabotages his work again spitefully or screw it up?

Or… Or maybe… Maybe this time he can understand there are things more important than him and his plans and listen for once. That’s not all, he owed him! Helping him rescue Fiddleford could be his chance to apologize for ruining his life and finally grow up. However, how could he contact him? Or more exactly, what was going to tell him and how Stanley would respond? The second one was something he didn’t want to imagine because, what could his brother tell him if he called him, after almost 10 years or silence and estrangement, for help?

_‘Hey, Ford, what’s up? What? You need a hand? Oh sure, let me assist THE TRAITOR OF A BROTHER WHO DITCHED OUR CHILDHOOD DREAM FOR A STUPID SCHOOL AND LET PA KICK ME OUT LIKE A MUTT!!! FUCK YOU, SUCKER!!’_

Yep, that would be the most realistic answer, but it wasn’t his fault! Sure, Stanley didn’t deserve to be kicked out of the house for breaking his project and Pa, once he’s mad, can’t think rationally, but his brother brought that to himself. If he’d just let him go to West Coast Tech or apologized for ruining his future, things would be different. But that didn’t matter at that moment. His priority now was creating a plan to save Fiddleford’s life and despite knowing how Stanley would react if he asked him for help, he couldn’t rescue his friend alone no matter how much he tried and there was little time. It was risky, in terms of wasting time, but it was his best course of action to bring McGucket back: calling his estranged brother.

Ford went to the phone of the kitchen wall and marked a number while chanting mentally ‘Please, just Ma or Shermie’ many times and then:

-Hello, Pines residence. Who’s talkin’?

Ford heaved a big sigh of relief. It was Ma.

-Hi, Ma. It’s -he cleared his throat a bit- me. Stanford.

-Stanford? Is that you?

-Yes, Ma. It’s me -. Did he really sound that different?

-Sorry, sorry, hon. It’s just… You sound pretty tired.

‘You have no idea’ Ford wanted to say but stopped. Focus, you have to focus.

-Listen, there’s no time. I need help with a task of great urgency and I was wondering if he’s called you or if you know where he is.

-He? Wait, are you talking about Stanley?

-Yes, Ma. I need to talk to him.


	2. A estranged call of help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With his bad luck and a murderous criminal on his back, Stan receives a message from his mother about a call of help of the last person who wants to see him.   
> Warning: reference of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, self-worth issues, past child abuse, and Filbrick being an abusive asshole.

_‘What a great day to be alive’_ Stan thought bitterly while rummaging from the dumps for some food. Just again another attempt to gain money backfired in his face and he had to run away from the angry mob who wanted to recover their bills. And to top it all, he had Rico breathing on his neck like 24/7 if that is correct.

Who could believe that helping that madman and his crime pals to escape a Columbian prison would lead to this? At first, he thought the guy was a stereotypical criminal lord: all tough, intimidating, scary and strong, but like in everything else in his life, he was wrong. Rico was, in every aspect of the word, a sociopath with a sickening love for money and violence. Geez, and Stan thought that Pa was greedy but this guy was in another level. Why he helped him then? Of course, the prison wasn’t an ideal place to be for some years. The food tasted like nightmare, the guards were a bunch of jackasses who let the strong prisoners beat, rape and even kill their cellmates for the heck of it, and he didn’t want more bruises and scars…

Not when his arms were almost full of the second ones he’d made on them because of his demons.

_‘No! Don’t think about that, Stan!’_ he thought and shook his head trying to be positive. Then a snort, ha positive! That was simply impossible. No matter, if he was on the streets, home, the prison or any other place, being optimistic, wouldn’t change the fact that he was a downward spiral of failure and worthlessness. _‘Just like Pa said you would always be, knucklehead’_ the depressive waves came again and Stan cursed himself for thinking about his problems instead of just concentrating on finding food. But in the end, even if he got distracted or become outright optimistic, what Pa and those nagging voices said was true. After all, what had he done that was truly worthwhile and impressive in the eyes of everyone he knows? Boxing? That was just to learn how to defend himself and Ford, and he didn’t even get enough trophies to show off. Studying was out of the list: he never was good with books and nerdy stuff; besides, Pointdexter was the smart twin, not him. Having a car? Everyone has one, so it could be the same as imitating people. Being there for his brother? Well, Ford always appreciated his efforts to protect him from Crampelter and his goons, but that didn’t last long though because…

Because of that fancy school and Ford’s desires to go places… While him, the ridding-on-your-coattails twin would only rot in Glass Shard Beach scrapping barnacles of a salty toffy store. Stan gritted his teeth and his hands shook in utter anger. Oh, how much he wanted to use his boxing skills in that son of a bitch of principal to show him he wasn’t a clown or whatever loser of the street. Unfortunately, here he was now: struggling to survive, threatened by a bloodthirsty criminal who didn’t stop to demand him for the money he owed him, alone and without a solid plan to become rich so he could return home and be forgiven by Pa and Ford.

At this point, using his car as a mobile house sounded better than having made a deal with Rico, of all people, to get a stable place to live temporarily and a job, despite how ruthless that guy was. Suddenly, his hands felt something hard and broken but it wasn’t wood or glass, he rummaged a bit deeper and found a half-eaten chocolate bar. After having inspected it to prevent food intoxication, Stan deemed it eatable and put it in one of the pockets of his hoodie. A bit more hopeful to find more food, he dug in the contents of the dumps enough to be inside and then… Surprise! A little fast-food box with a hamburger inside.

-This must be my lucky day. Whoever threw this away was seriously an idiot-. Murmured with a relieved smile and got the snack out of the dumps to return quickly to the motel room he obtained with the remnants of the money of his last failed attempt to be rich.

While walking back to the motel, he passed by a humble toy store. There were a lot of toys and games placed on the counter in front of the big window: chess, checkers (he couldn’t remember the last time Ford showed him how to win a chess match without cheating), an old version of DD&MD (he’d do anything, like ANYTHING to play that with Sixer no matter how boring could it be), robots, stuffed animals, dolls, pirate ships of many designs and sizes, sailboats…

Sailboats…

Then he stopped and looked at that toy intensely.

_“One of these days, you and me are gonna sail away from this dumb town. We’ll hunt for treasure, get all the girls, and be an unstoppable team of adventurers”_

_“You really mean it?”_

_“High six?”_

_“High six!”_

His hands balled in fists with barely contained anger, bitterness, and resentment. They were supposed to face the world together!! US AGAINST THE WORLD!! But it seems that Ford only wanted to get out of Glass Shard Beach in any possible way whether he could accompany him or not. And worse, when that STUPID, FUCKING, FANCY, SHMANCY SCHOOL came to the picture, Pointdexter decided that their childhood dream wasn’t a useful escape plan anymore and forgot about how his own brother could deal in that hellhole of a town they grew up in!! All their work repairing the Stan O’ War, all the plans and prospects about adventure, treasure, and babes, their promises, in the end, Ford was just humoring him!!

_‘WELL, what DID you EXPECT? That DREAM was ONLY a PLAN doomed TO failure. YOU didn’t WANT to CONDEMN your TWIN to THAT fate, DID you?’_

_‘No! Of course not!’_ he yelled mentally to the annoying voice -one of the many that never stop torturing him- and sighed heavily. He hated to admit it but, even if he’s still mad at Ford, he couldn’t blame him for replacing their childhood dream for something more feasible, successful, great and…

And…

And not wanting to be always with his mistake and screw up of a brother who follows him like a lap dog.

_‘Yeah, that could be. After all, who’d want to be with the brainless twin, the spare moron, the screwup Pines, the you-should’ve-never-be-born worthless idiot? Even Ford got tired to be with a loser like me’_ Stan thought miserably and felt the scars of his arms getting… Getting what exactly? Restless, tempting, like calling him to go again with the routine of razors and blood just to feel better in a way, but he wouldn’t. He couldn’t if he got an infection then paying for medicine or an appointment with a doctor would be troublesome. He just got enough from that salesman failed attempt to refill the tank gas in case he needed to escape from Rico and his men, and a bit for the motel room cost, he couldn’t waste it in anything else. For that reason, no more scars or razors. Finally, Stan arrived at the motel, a seedy one but it was better than nothing, and opened the door of his room with a heavy push, sat in the bed and started eating the half-eaten chocolate bar and the medium hamburger found in the dumps while trying to think in a way to get Rico off of him and gain some money, but AGAIN nothing useful came to his mind so he decided to sleep some hours.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

It had passed some days and Rico’s pressure on Stan to receive the money was getting more dangerous and harder to keep at bay. He tried to look for some gullible idiots to pickpocket or deceive so he could make his ‘boss’ believe that he was working non-stop gathering the quantity of the debt; however, that criminal was like a black hole and his patience was nearing its end, which Stan considered an understatement, because whenever someone made a mistake or was too slow in the job, Rico didn’t hesitate to blow up their heads with his gun.

At least, something good happened one of those days and it was that after stealing a careless man’s pocket and finding some bills of 20 and 50 dollars, he decided to use a bit of that money to call his mother who he hadn’t talked with for weeks. Hearing her soothing and kind voice always cheered him up despite the somber circumstances he was in and even after the falling out between him and Ford, and Pa not wanting to see him until he becomes rich, Ma was the only one who still cared about him. Well, Shermie too, but come to think of it, maybe he’s as mad and/or disappointed because of his big screw up years ago. But anyway, back to the point, he called her and explained her -sugarcoated the situation to be exact- what was going on with him and where he was and his mother told him about everything that was going on in the pawn shop; however, the most surprising news she informed him about was that Stanford wanted to talk to him, he needed him for something really important.

At first, he thought Ma was kidding him and laughed humorlessly because Ford needing him? That was the best joke of all! For almost ten years, Pointdexter hadn’t contacted him and didn’t want to have anything to do with him because of the science fair incident, and now he changes his mind? But once he stopped laughing and numbering the reasons why his twin was doing better without him, Ma mentioned how tired Stanford sounded while talking to her and that something pretty serious must have happened to him to ask for his whereabouts.

The rest went in a flash. After receiving Ford’s address, he packed what was left of his things in the car, counted his money so he had enough for gas and started driving in the morning after having 2 or 3 hours of sleep. During the ride, many thoughts crossed his mind but just one question was dominant above all of them: what Stanford had gotten himself into? Of the two, Stan was always the troublemaker, the prankster, the screw up, heck everyone always saw that in him and never believed otherwise; however, when Ford was on the picture it was always ‘How great your son did in this exam!’, ‘You should be very proud of having him’, ‘This boy will be going places’. Always perfect, well-behaved, a genius that could never make a single mistake so, what had really happened to him to ask for his help?

A big part of him was curious and skeptical at the same time; as far as he knew, there was nothing his twin’s big brain couldn’t solve unless this time was a challenge in which he had to swallow his pride and ask for help. There was another part of him, though, that really didn’t want to know or be involved in this, and the more Stan focused on not falling asleep because of how exhausted he was, the more insistent the inner voice was on leaving Ford to his bad luck and move on. One thing now he was starting to learn was to appreciate whatever junk the radio stations could give over the annoying part of him that wanted to forget Ford’s existence. Sadly, the radio of his car was all static and boring so his only entertainment -if that was the correct term- was hearing that voice non-stop.

_‘THIS is A bad IDEA. Don’t YOU see YOU’RE just AN option FOR your BROTHER?’_ the voice complained.

_‘He needs my help. Even after all these years, he still trusts me’_

_‘Trust YOU? Ha! THAT’S rich! YOU know HE is A social INEPT, the ONLY person WHO could UNDERSTAND him AND talk TO him WAS you. YOU were HIS only FRIEND, so IN the END, is CALLING you OR ignore THE problem’_

_‘He could’ve asked someone else for help. Someone smart to be exact. I broke his project, I ruined his chances of going to that shmancy school, so why contacting me?’_

_‘BECAUSE he KNOWS you’re TOO goddamn LOYAL for YOUR own GOOD’_

Touché.

But still, _‘He could’ve assumed I was still mad at him for abandoning our dream and letting Pa kicked me out of the house, and that I’d rather pretend he never existed than drop everything I have and come to his rescue’_

_‘WELL, that TOO. However, IT seems THAT he’s DESPERATE and YOU’RE the ONLY one WHO could DO anything FOR him’_

_‘And that’s what I will do’_

_‘YEAH, and FOR what EXACTLY? What DO you WANT from YOUR brother’s PART in THE end? A pat ON the BACK and A «what-A-good-BOY» praise LIKE you WERE a DOG? Just LIKE him?’_

That made Stan stopped his car abruptly and glare to nowhere.

-MY BROTHER IS NOT A DOG!!!!- He yelled physically and mentally.

_‘ARE you SURE?’_ the voice questioned him provokingly which pissed him off more.

_‘Of course, I am, you jerky, nagging voice’_

_‘GEEZ, and I thought YOU were THE perceptive, PEOPLE-expert TWIN, Stan. BUT it SEEMS that I was WRONG’_

_‘Hey! I’m much better than Ford in knowing who’s lying and who’s not’_

_‘AND still, YOU can’t SEE how MUCH of A lost PUPPY your BROTHER is. AREN’T you THE only ONE who KNOWS him BETTER than ANYONE else?’_

_‘Ok, smarty-pants, tell me what kind of evidence you have’_

_‘THE teachers, THE bullies, YOUR father, THE school’s PRINCIPAL, WCT’s admission TEAM’_

_‘What the heck they have to do with Ford «being a dog»?’_

_‘YOU can’t BE that FORGETFUL, can YOU? **SIX FINGERS, BIG BRAIN**. Your BROTHER was ALWAYS picked ON by CRAMPELTER and NEVER felt LIKE he WAS part OF Glass SHARD Beach. HE always DESIRED to FIT in, TO be VALIDATED, to BE the BEST’_

_‘So, what? I wanted to be respected and recognized too. I even tried to make Pa proud with one of my boxing trophies, but… But that only made him mad and he gave me the worst beating of my life with belt and kicks’_

That night, many years ago, was like the catalyst for him to feel that living wasn’t worth it anymore. If it weren’t for his brother, he would have ended it all: the pain, the insults, the toxic voices and thoughts, and worthlessness. The ironic and funny thing, though, was that Ford was kind of part of the reason why Pa beat him so mercilessly, just because he had interrupted his brother and showed one of his accomplishments before Pointdexter could with his own.

_“NEVA INTERRUPT YER BROTHER, YA HEARD ME, FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT?!!!!” Filbrick yelled like a rabid beast while still kicking a kid Stan in the stomach and ribs._

_“Y-Yes… P-P-Pa…” He barely could breath and the painful cracks of his beaten bones and the deepness of the bloody gashes on his back, due to the belt, were clouding his consciousness, which at that point wasn’t too much._

_Filbrick grabbed him from the hair and looked at him with murderous, cold eyes._

_“NOW listen, ya fucker leech, ya’d better not waste anyone’s time in this family with yer shit. no matter if ya do something worthwhile for once in your life, ya’ll always be a pest, a bastard, and that’s yer only place on Earth. And ya’d better not tell ANYONE about this or else I’ll do what I should’ve done long time ago: GETTING THE FUCK RID OF YOU FOREVER!!” then Filbrick hit him hard with his knee and drop him on the floor of the backyard before spitting on his face._

Stan’s face got darker the more he remembered that unfair and almost lethal punishment.

_‘Yeah, that day I really wanted death than anything else. I couldn’t go to school for a whole 2 weeks. I was consumed by self-loathing, fear, fever and pain. Heck, even Ma and Shermie suspected, and Ford wanted to know what happened. So, after that incident, I stopped trying to impress my family, well my parents to be exact. Ma still loved me despite everything, so it wasn’t necessary, but Pa… He was different, no matter if Ford was there or not, every time I tried to make him say «I’m proud of you» he just ignored of punished me behind everyone’s back. But that time was the last straw and I quitted; however, Pa didn’t with the beatings. Whether I misbehaved in the school, the house or I was just being me, he always found a reason to use me as a punching bag. At least Ford never received that kind of treatment. Heck, he even impressed Pa, but that DOESN’T mean he’s a dog’_

_‘SERIOUSLY? Maybe I should LIST you WHY those PERSONS I mentioned ARE the REASONS why FORD is A dog. YOUR brother, AS you HAVE always KNOWN, had YOUR support AND protection, BUT that WASN’T enough FOR him. SURE, you WERE his BEST friend, BUT he NEEDED to SEE more AND feel LIKE he WASN’T being LABELED as A freak. VALIDATION and PRAISES were LIKE a BLESSING to HIM. Or MORE like AN addiction, TO be HONEST. The TEACHERS always TALKED about HOW intelligent HE was, YOUR father WAS impressed THAT he GOT the ATTENTION of A fancy COLLEGE, the PRINCIPAL called HIM a GENIUS, and THE next PRAISE-like GOAL was BEING accepted BY the ADMISSION team OF West COAST Tech. DON’T you SEE the PATTERN? Always LOOKING for APPROVAL like A love-HUNGRY puppy, EVEN for STRANGERS that DIDN’T give HIM a CHANCE in THE science FAIR’_

_‘Everyone wants to be recognized for his achievements by someone in their lives. That’s normal and not a proof that Stanford is a dog. And whether you like it or not, I’ll help Ford in whatever mess he got himself in’ he finished firmly and turned on the car again to continue the ride._

_‘WE’RE gonna REGRET this. I feel WE really WILL’_ the voice said finally, but Stan ignored it. Regret it? There was nothing that could make him change his mind about helping Stanford or regret this decision, and he was going to show it.


	3. The brainiac, the knucklehead and the impossible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ford and Stan finally reunite after almost ten years of estrangement and Ford let out his biggest regret.

Waiting was truly the bane of his existence. The more time passed, the fewer chances he had to save Fiddleford, but he couldn’t just repair the portal like it was a broken toy on his own. His mother had talked to him some days ago, informing him that Stanley, despite being skeptical of the idea that he wanted help from him, assured her that he would take care of his brother and hung up. Since then, Stanford was waiting while his brain debated with itself about what options were better to take on the future days so the rescue mission could be successful; however, a part of him wondered if Stanley really accepted to help him or if his mother lied to him to calm him down, after all, she was a pathological liar.

But he didn’t want to think about that possibility because then, if his mother lied to him to appease him of if Stan told her he didn’t want to do anything with his twin which made her lie to him, then the other options on his list would be resign that Fiddleford is doomed beyond salvation, hide his knowledge to prevent another tragedy, and even lie to McGucket’s family telling them that Fiddleford inexplicably disappeared.

NO! That was out of the question! Stanley had to help him, he owed him! He couldn’t just say no!

_Knock, knock_

Because if that happened…

_Knock, knock_

His friend…

_Knock, knock_

Wait, where that sound comes from?

With his nerves out of control, Ford got the crossbow and open the door while aiming the weapon at the unwanted visit:

-Who’s there?! The authorities?! The FBI?!- he yelled menacingly.

-Hey, hey! Calm down, buddy. It’s me, Stan- his twin tried to calm him down and it seemed it was working for how every muscle in Ford’s body relaxed, barely though.

Stanford looked at the stranger with his twin’s voice and noticed his worried expression, the big red nose, the squarish head, the sort of baby fat… Is… Is that Stanley?

-S-Stanley? Is that you? – he questioned confused.

Stan, on the other hand, was starting to wonder about his brother’s sanity. Sure, Ma said Ford was tired, that he sounded tired and he was desperate for help, but for him to not recognize his own brother, THAT was pretty alarming.

-Dude, it’s me. I know my voice is graver or whatever, but I have the same face as you. I’m your twin, not a hallucination or a ghost. And please, put that thing down, would ya? I don’t want an arrow on my neck-. Stan asked while still looking at Ford’s eyes that were clouded by shock and anxiety, but before he could say something his brother beat him to it.

-Stanley, you’re here?!

-Of course, I’m here, genius. Didn’t you hear me when—

-Do you know how much time I had to wait for you?! -Ford interrupted him furiously – I had an emergency of utmost importance to take care of and still, you can’t take it seriously by coming earlier!

Ouch. That hurt. It kind of reminded him of the jerks in Glass Shard Beach who always insulted him in his back, thinking of him as an eternal screw-up. And now Ford believed he couldn’t be responsible with whatever mess he had decided to help his brother with?

-Oi, first of all, I didn’t want to be late, but my car decided to have a problem in its engine and stop working. Second, I couldn’t go to Gravity Falls -weird name for a town by the way- immediately with this cold as hell of a weather. That’s why I had to push my car all day and sleep inside of it in the night to not die freezing. Third, I was lucky enough that a mechanic who was planning to pass by the town decided to stop and helped me repair my car so I could come here faster. That’s WHY it took me some days to arrive. So, don’t you dare to say I didn’t care or want to take this problem of yours seriously, because as far as we know I’d do anything for you!

That really shut him up as Stan could see, because if Pointdexter thinks he doesn’t care then he’ll show him the total opposite. Falling out or not, he’s here to help!

-I-I see… -Stanford calmed down, just another bit, and shook his head. Focus, YOU HAVE TO FOCUS- Anyway, no one followed you, right?

-No, that I know, but—Hey, hey! Careful, genius! Don’t tear my arm! -Stan complained bur Ford ignored him while pulling him by the arm to the house and to the basement’s entrance. After opening the door quickly, Stan is dragged through a long and dark passage while looking confused and surprised wondering if this was a dream or if he was put into a cliché sci-fi show. _‘Holy shit. Is Ford now some kind of demented scientist like in the movies?’_ he thought more worried than before. If his theory is true, he didn’t want to imagine what sort of shenanigans his brother is going to ask him to hide or destroy. He just hoped it wasn’t a body, because it that was true so it meant Ford’s sanity was out of the window much before he arrived.

Suddenly, his twin stopped in front of an elevator and looked at him with deadly serious eyes

-Stanley, I’ll be direct with you. I made a lot of mistakes. I let my confidence made me careless and couldn’t fulfill a very important promise-. He mentioned and open the elevator’s door. The two entered and descended to Ford’s lab all while the scientist continued talking -When we enter, Stanley, I need you -in every aspect of the petition- to listen to me. My explanation will be long so no interruptions or questions are allowed until I finish, do you understand?

-Alright. I’ll listen- Stan responded with the same seriousness as Ford.

Once the elevator stopped, both got out and Stan once again felt his mind being swallowed by a black hole and left in white due to the nonsensical number of machines, cables and other equipment his twin had. Now he was fearing the worst like some human experimentation crap or time travel from the Back to the future movies that could’ve gone out of control; however, that’s not the most surprising thing inside of Ford’s secret lab but what he’s looking at beyond the big window under a command button machine. It was a gigantic metallic structure in the form of a triangle and it seemed to have a circular hole in the center; however, Stan couldn’t notice it very well, because there was a lot of debris surrounding the machine, and some part of it looked burnt and broken.

_‘So, Ford want my help to repair that thing?’_ he questioned mentally, to be honest with himself, that was new and impossible for obvious reasons. His brother would never trust someone who destroyed his project and therefore his chances of going to a fancy school.

-Ford, what THE HELL is that? - he pointed his finger to the demolished portal and that is when his twin, who was also looking at his greatest goal but now most terrible burden- turned around and said:

-As I mentioned, I’d explain to you why I need your help, and -as I told you before- NO INTERRUPTIONS AND/OR QUESTIONS until I’ve finished-. He sighed heavily, ready to let out what has haunted him for a whole week- This before you is a trans-universal polydimensional meta vortex or -to put it in simple terms- a portal to other worlds. I met, during my time in Backsupmore, a young and brilliant engineer to build the portal. I planned to unravel the mysteries of the universe and bring prosperity to humanity with it, and we worked days nonstop until finally, the day of the test came, but…

_They were finally ready! The portal was shining in all of its turn-on splendor. Ford and Fiddleford were in front of the medium metal wall that was a few meters behind the yellow-and-black warning line, the two men were between that barrier and the off button that was near the metal mash that separated them from the warning line. Both grab the arms of the test mannequin ready to throw it to the unknown._

_“When I say three, we’ll let it go, but don’t forget to take the rope. Got it?!” Ford reminded Fiddleford of their plan while containing his excitement, if barely._

_“O-Okay. Let’s do this!” his friend responded nervously and straightened up to have a bit more of confidence. He just wanted to get over this as quickly as he can and get out of the portal’s room. He thought it was his imagination but he could hear the cruel and smug laughter of the machine like the thing was alive and ready to perform something hideous. The harness in his body was suffocating him as much as his anxiety, then the account started: 1 -he tried to stop his legs from shaking too much-; 2 -be positive, McGucket, just be positive-; and…_

_“3!” Stanford yelled._

_However, just when they were going to throw the mannequin, the portal roared like a hellish beast and its suction force plus zero gravity got out of control and ripped violently the door of the metal walls like a band-aid. Then, everything went in slow motion -or that’s what Stanford thought because of the shock- the door rammed Fiddleford like an enraged bull, breaking the hook which connected his harness to the chains that were attached to a support they had built._

_“FIDDLEFORD!!!” Ford yelled in utter horror at what he’s seeing, but it was nothing compared to the unadulterated and nightmarish panic of Fiddleford for feeling closer and closer to the portal’s mouth and especially his death._

_“STANFORD!!!!! HELP ME!!!!!” he grabbed with sheer desperation the metal mash, which was now like a leaf trying to stay in its place while brutal wind gusts attempt to separate it from the branch._

_Without hesitation, Ford disconnected his harness from the chains while aiming to the off button; however, in his rush, he didn’t take into account the increasing suction power of the portal that pulled him effortlessly to the button’s support. He felt his ribs cracking and the air in his lungs being robbed instantly when he crashed with it, leaving him semi-unconscious._

_OH. FUCKING. GOD. THAT HURT!!!_

_“STANFORD!!!!! SHUT IT DOWN!!!!” Fiddleford’s cry of help got him out of his condition for a little of time._

_The portal was getting more and more unstable with his suction power, making pretty difficult and painful for Ford to move, but with sheer will he raised his hand to turn off the machine…_

_Too little too late though. The metal mash was ripped from the ground tackling Fiddleford in the process, direct to the portal’s mouth._

_“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” his friend’s terrorized voice was the last thing he heard before the portal’s left side exploded at the same time Ford’s hand fell against the button due to the shock._

-W-when I g-got up -Ford’s stammered- everything was dark and-and silent… I l-looked everywhere and there was only des-destruction and F-Fiddleford… He… He was gone-. He murmured while feeling something wet rolling down his cheeks. Was he crying? And when he fell to his knees? God, he felt so pathetic! He couldn’t do anything right! First, he couldn’t fulfill his promise to his friend; next, he let down Bill due to the portal being in shambles; and now he was bawling like a crybaby. And in front of Stanley to top it all! How low has he fallen?

-Ford- his brother called him and he looked at his twin’s eyes expecting pity, shock, disbelief or whatever his tired mind could imagine. But what he only saw was warm and concern; it reminded him of the times when they were children and their only worries were the bullies. When Stan and him comforted each other, especially his brother towards him, telling him that those guys were a bunch of idiots and that he was special and smart, that he didn’t have to listen to their insults because they were just jealous of his big brain. He really missed those times…

Then Stan approached him slowly, carefully and placed firm hands on his shoulders while looking at him seriously.

-Ford, you wanted my help because of an emergency, right? – he asked, his voice so unnaturally calm that it seemed surrealistic- Maybe I’m not a genius like you and there are a lot of questions I want to make you, but what I clearly understand is that your assistant is in god-knows-where and you can’t rescue him alone, so you called me. Well, no matter how hard or difficult is this rescue mission, I’ll help you. even if it takes us years, I’ll be there for you.

‘So, you don’t have to feel like I’m leaving you behind’ he wanted to add but stopped himself. NO, Stan. There’s no time to dwell on past mistakes and incidents.

Ford, meanwhile, was surprised, even when a little part of him was reminding him that Stanley was always loyal to his family, especially towards his twin whether it’s to protect him from the bullies, making him take better care of himself, encouraging him to do the best, but…

But he didn’t realize until now he’d forgotten that trait of his brother. Or maybe, maybe he knew Stanley was the most loyal person, someone whom he could always turn to if things went wrong, but after the science fair incident, the anger at feeling betrayed and seeing his chances of going to WCT vanishing, all those memories of his brother being his protector and refuge were buried very deeply in his mind like they were just lies, tainted by many years of resentment and hurt that clouded him from the real image of Stanley while replacing it with a distorted picture of him. However, now that he was looking at him, he couldn’t see anything but the protective -if somewhat reckless- brother who always had his back.

-You mean it? - Ford asked feeling like he was twelve again, vulnerable, scared but not alone.

-Of course, I do. But first, before starting to work, let’s get you some water. Maybe that calms you a bit- Stan lent him his hand and Ford took it -still overwhelmed with memories and emotions- and both got out of the command’s room and went to the kitchen.

Ford sat down in one of the chairs while Stan served him a glass of water, his twin drank it slowly, feeling the cold liquid relieving his dry throat, all while Stan waited for him to be ready to say what they should do next. After 10 o 20 minutes of tense silence, Ford got up, his brother doing the same thing.

-So… More calmed now? - he asked cautiously.

-Yeah, yeah. A bit at least. Let’s get back to the portal. I’ll tell you what to do there-. Ford said and went to the basement’s entrance with Stan behind him. Once they were in front of the mess the portal was, he began with the instructions. -We’ll remove every obstacle or object that isn’t part of the portal. Then, we’ll separate the remnants of the machine: to the left, the useless part; and to the right, the rest that is still in good condition to be reused.

-OK. Let’s do it.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

4 or 5 hours passed and Ford was seeing some progress in the mission, but his anxiety was still torturing him. Despite his brother’s surprising obedience and willingness to help, two persons rebuilding a machine as big as the portal wouldn’t be enough and the other resources he had to accelerate the work weren’t that trustworthy, because what if a bit of information about this project’s existence arrives to the ears of the townsfolk or outsiders even. Then people would get curious, demanding of answers, suspicious or worse, they could jump to conclusions and call the authorities which would be the end of the mission and Fiddleford’s life.

Besides, even if Stanley was being very co-operative what if he stopped once he told him how he and Fiddleford got so far with the portal? Would he believe him or label him as a lunatic? He decided that for now, that question needed to be put aside until the moment came.

Stan didn’t know how many hours they were working by putting together the good parts and bad parts of the portal in different sides of the room, but looking at Stanford at least gave him the idea of how late the night was if his suspicions were correct. But, come to think of it, the zombie appearance of his brother was present much before he came to Gravity Falls, maybe it started after Fiddleford got sucked through the portal which was concerning because, by giving him a good look, Stan could notice the bags in Ford’s eyes that were darker than the mask of a raccoon, his clothes were wrinkled, dirty and with sweat stains, and even it seemed that he had lost some weight. Geez, at this point Pointdexter was going to collapse and if that happened, the mission would be delayed. Besides, it was also for Ford’s sake if he stopped him from overstressing his body too much.

-Ford, hey Ford!

-Uh?... What? What is it?

Yep, he was too wrapped up in his work.

-Listen, I know this mission is really important to you, but you need to rest.

-REST?! You say I should rest?! In a crisis like this?! – and there it went the overreaction.

-Ford, it’s for the mission and your own good. I mean, look at yourself! You haven’t slept, eaten or even taken a shower in who knows who many days. You need—

-Stanley, this isn’t about me!! It’s about--!

-About rescuing your friend, I know. But your health is important, because if you collapse then who’s going to explain how to repair that thing in your lab. Ford, your brain is the sole key to bring your assistant back, so you also have to take care good of it.

Ford open his mouth to reply but close it quickly. Stan was right, although he hadn’t told him about the journals that contain the portal’s instructions yet, still, he was right. Without his knowledge of the machine functions, it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to rebuild and reopen the portal, and he doubted that even with his journals they could progress after all the science and math equations were pretty advanced, a common mind would be utterly confused by just reading them. Not that he was implying that his brother was stupid, but those subjects weren’t his strong points. But, back to the point, Stan was right, a little rest was necessary if he didn’t want to get sick.

-Fine-. He sighed -I’ll sleep, BUT just for a few hours, 2 or 3 at least. Then we’ll get back to work.

-Ok, I’ll keep an eye in whatever watch or clock you have to wake you up when the time is over. Sounds good?

-Mmmmhmm-. Ford responded and they went to the elevator.

After returning to the kitchen, Ford stopped before going to his room and turned to his brother.

-There is a wall clock on the right side of the door that connects the kitchen with the living room, just imagine that you’re entering the kitchen and you’ll find it. My room is on the second floor, you can sleep on the sofa. Check the clock and in 3 hours you wake me up, understood?

-Got it-. Stan replied and Ford nodded getting out of the kitchen.

When he entered his room and looked at his bed, he felt crushingly guilty. Here he was, ready to sleep in a warm, soft bed while Fiddleford was struggling to survive or even worse! Heck, he could be dying slowly after having fallen through the portal. _‘NO! Don’t you dare, Stanford! You’re going to save him! YOU HAVE TO!’_ he thought desperately. Then it occurred to him that sleeping wouldn’t be such a bad idea, after all, Bill could visit him in his dreams. Yeah! Maybe not sleeping was the reason why he couldn’t contact his muse, but now it’d be different, and once Bill told him what to do or gave him news about Fiddleford, the rescue mission could progress much more.

_‘Hang in there, Fiddleford. Please! I’ll save you, just hang in there’_ he prayed mentally before falling sleep.


	4. Guiltmares, regrets and forest’s revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between guilt, tension and a sort of heart-to-heart, Stan and Ford both bond and call for more help.

Darkness enveloped him, everything was silent, but what else was new when you fall asleep? For a few seconds, confusion was the only thing in his mind, he couldn’t see anything remotely close to the galaxy background or the number of tridimensional objects floating in different directions when Bill met him for the first time. He tried to think of something, but it seemed useless. It was as if his mind was shut down in every function.

-S…ord.

Wait, what was that?

-Sta…ord.

That voice sounds familiar, but it was too distant to recognize it.

-Stanford.

Now it was clearer. It was McGucket’s voice!

-Fiddleford?! Are you there?!

He looked everywhere, but blackness was the only thing present, still, his friend continued calling him.

-Fiddleford!! Where are you?! Please, tell me!

He couldn’t believe it, maybe it was a stress-induced dream or a miracle -even when Ford was never interested in religion-; however, wasting the opportunity to talk with Fiddleford, even in a dream, was a very bad move. His friend could give him some hints about where he was or if he was hanging there and waiting for the rescue. The voice called him again and he could see him, a few meters from him was Fiddleford but his back was facing him, still, Ford was too happy and desperate to care. He ran like the devil was coming to get him, he didn’t know what he would do once he was in front of his friend: hug him, be on his knees and beg for forgiveness, tell him how sorry he was? There was a multitude of options and he only wanted to talk to him despite not knowing how to start.

-Fiddleford- he was some seconds from placing a hand on McGucket’s shoulder-, thank heavens you’re here, you don’t know how worried I—

However, before finishing his sentence, a fist collided with his face. The stinging pain on his right cheek was nothing compared to the shock of receiving that hit; ironically, some part of him told him he deserved it, despite Ford’s hopes of talking with his friend and try to fix his mistakes. He looked to Fiddleford’s face to confront him and -much to his horror- saw something he didn’t want to imagine. His friend’s appearance was an utter mess: his lab coat was torn, ragged, with blood and greenish stains; his skin lacked color; the right eye socket had no eye and was spilling a thick black liquid; portions of the arms, hands and face’s skin were hanging from then and dripping an almost black blood.

Fiddleford was a zombie!

And a very angry one, his facial expressions were of seething hatred, rage and disgust like McGucket were watching a monster.

-DON’T YOU DARE TO TOUCH ME, YOU LIFE-RUINING FREAK!!!- he yelled while shaking the hand he used to punch Ford as if to get rid of an infection.

-F-Fiddleford, what happened to--?

-Don’t ask the obvious, you imbecile!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

-No… I didn’t mean for this to happen- he begged while feeling his tears falling- You know I would never do something like this to you! I tried to save you and I’m still trying! You’re my friend!

-FRIEND?!- the other shrieked like he had been insulted in the worst way possible -Who would want to befriend a man who always put others in danger for his own gain?!

This felt like a dejavú, but it was inverted and messed up.

_“Are you kidding me? Why would I want to do anything with the person who sabotaged my entire future?!”_

-I had a life, Stanford! I had so many plans and dreams I wanted so much to make true! -Fiddleford’s eye socket and his left eye spilled bloody tears- I wanted to keep kissing my wife and see her smiles, to watch Tate grow up and tell him how proud he always made me feel! I wanted to have my own company of portable computers and share my success with everyone, AND I GAVE UP ALL THIS FOR YOU!!! AND FOR WHAT?!!! I’M DEAD, STANFORD!!! I’m dead and in God-knows-where because of your fucking portal!!! I trusted you, I warned you about the dangers of the machine AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!!!

-No… This is not what you think… I’d rather—

-Such a genius ya turned out to be, Stanford- another voice was heard and it came from behind. He turned around and saw the imposing and harsh figure of his father, who had his arms crossed and looked at him with nothing but disappointment.

He felt little and vulnerable by just being in front of Pa, like having 12 again and without Stan’s protection.

-Yer brain was supposed ta get us millions, Stanford- Filbrick said with a deadly seriousness that made Ford gulped nervously- That was yer only task. With or without that fancy college, ya could’ve made a fortune and get us out of that dump. But, did ya do it? NO!!!! Ya only wasted yer brain with fairytales and devils, and to top it all, ya committed murder, ya little shit!

-I didn’t murder anyone! -Ford yelled furiously, no matter if Pa wasn’t impressed of him anymore; he didn’t have the right to butt in his troubles when he didn’t know anything about it

-Don’t fool yourself, Stanford- Fiddleford intervened with an icy voice- Just accept it!

-All my years wasting time and money on you, believing that you could reach higher places and, in the end, ya turned out to be a bigger failure than Stanley. I can’t believe I decided to let yer mother having more kids when only with Sherman things would’ve gone better!

-You could not have been more right, Mr. Pines- a third voice commented venomously. Ford looked to his left and, some meters from Pa, he saw principal Morgan of Glass Shard High, who was sending him a nasty glare-. What you have done is truly the biggest idiocy of all the times. Not only you killed someone for science’s sake, but you also had to drag your family and the school’s name down with you?! And the teachers and I thought you were destined to go places, but it seemed it was just one of your many facades. You were just an attention-seeking loser in a bigger level than the clown of your brother. So many expectations, so many hopes put on you and this is how you repay our trust? How pitiful- he mocked mercilessly.

-YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!!!- Ford yelled desperately. Why no one could listen to his explanations for just a moment? And why the heck Pa and principal Morgan had to be in this reunion? It was something between Fiddleford and him after all!

-It’s because everyone has to know how much you’ve fucked up, freak.

Oh God, now him?! How did he know what he was thinking?!

-Just looked at yourself, freak show. You lost your dumb friend because of a machine and now you’re completely alone. You’re such a joke.

-SHUT UP, CRAMPELTER!!! What the fuck do you know about my life?!! Compared to you, I have a future and even discovered incredible things, you’re just jealous of me because you’re nothing but a selfish and cheating jerk!!!- ‘Let’s see if he can fight against that argument’ Ford thought, believing he had shut his childhood’s tormentor up; however, Crampelter’s smile just grew bigger in a cruel and smug way.

-Yep, I bully people and take things from them like the homework. But at least, my hands aren’t coated in red… Like yours.

Suddenly, he felt liquid dripping from his hands, but it wasn’t sweat as he believed, he looked at them and was utterly horrified at what he was seeing: in the palm and back of his hands, and in all his 12 fingers there were many little mouths spilling blood and saying ‘Your fault’ over and over again like an accursed mantra.

-No, no!! This isn’t happening! I didn’t want this! I didn’t mean it!

-Complain and cry all you want, Stanford. This is your fault. You only know how to use and ruin everyone’s lives! -spat Fiddleford hatefully while closing in with the others around Ford.

-You know that’s not true, Fiddleford! Please! You have to believe me!

-Why wasting our time believing you, boy?

Wait, that voice… Seriously?! One of the members of the WCT’s admission team was present too?!

-We were very lucky we rejected you back then. It would’ve been a disaster for West Coast Tech’s reputation if we had accepted a soon-to-be criminal.

-It was an accident! I never wanted Fiddleford to fall through the portal! He was my friend!

-Don’t you dare to say such disgusting lies, Stanford Pines! No after what you’ve done!!- a female voice intervened this time and his blood ran cold after recognizing it. He looked to his right and there they were: Martha and Tate, McGucket’s wife and son respectively. Both looked at him with burning fury, utterly betrayed- There was never a friendship between you and my husband. It was always about listening to your own needs. While Fiddleford was trying to protect you from terrible disasters that could come from your own machines, you were only thinking about how to use him!!- she spat resentfully.

-That’s not true, Martha. You have to believe me! I-I’m trying to bring him back!

-HE COULD BE DEAD RIGHT NOW!!! No matter how hard you’re working, the love of my life and Tate’s father is gone! Gone for having to listen to such a delusional and reckless man! You’re just a coward! You didn’t have the balls to accept that your dream was impossible and dangerous, and decided to hold my husband back to get what you wanted! Because as far as I’m concerned, Fiddleford was just another mean to an end!!

-NO!!! I really treasured him!!- Ford begged desperately approaching them, but Tate stopped him by throwing a stone at him.

-Stay away, monster! -the kid yelled, his face was tear-stained- I HATE YOU!! Because of you, I have no dad anymore! If dad hadn’t met you, none of this would have happened! I wish you had NEVER been born!!

The others were approaching him more and more making the circle smaller. Ford didn’t know what to do. He seriously didn’t mean for any of this to happen, but still what everyone had said was true. He failed Fiddleford, he couldn’t fulfill his promise, his friend fell through the portal, he wasn’t careful enough and now, maybe, it was too late to save him.

-It seems that I was wrong about you, Fordsy.

Oh no. OH NO. Not that voice, anything but THAT voice.

-B-Bill… -Stanford stuttered at the same time he directed his eyes up where HE was. His muse was there, disappointed and hurt, shaking his body/head in a disapproving way.

-I’m ashamed, Sixer. I. AM. ASHAMED. This is seriously the most horrible and lowest hit someone could deliver against me, and to top it all, it came from you. I saw great potential in you, I always imagined you as the man who would change the world! And this is how you met up my expectations? With a half-destroyed portal and your hands coated in someone’s blood? The portal was destined to bring peace and abundance to your kind, but what did you do with it? EASY!! You turned it into a weapon!

-NO, BILL!! I would NEVER disappoint you like that! Things got out of control and I—

-Don’t make excuses, Stanford! Or what? Are you going to act like your brother and say ‘Hey, look at the silver lining. At least, your chosen one is still alive’? What kind of idiot do you DARE to take me for?!! I didn’t choose you to fuck this bad and still, you can’t accept that you let me down!

Then the floor -even when everything was black around him- started to swallow him slowly like quicksand. Black and deformed hands grabbed his arms strongly, preventing him from escaping while the others made the circle in whose center he was, smaller and smaller while looking at him with menacing eyes.

-This is what you deserve, Stanford -Fiddleford said coldly and hatefully-. As long as you’re alive, there will be someone else who will be used and hurt by you.

-If I had known ya were going to commit such stupidity, I would have forced yer mother to abort ya before ya were born! -Filbrick spat in disgust.

-Such a disappointment you have become. Can’t believe I called you a genius! -principal Morgan shouted.

-Accept it, Pines. Freak and loser in life, freak and loser FOREVER! -Crampelter laughed cruelly.

-You’re not West Coast Tech material, and you NEVER will! You were just deluding yourself- the man of the WCT’s admission team mocked him.

-You’re no longer part of our family anymore. You’re just the selfish coward who took away someone beloved from us! / -YOU KILLED MY DAD!!!- Martha and Tate yelled at the same time.

-Putting my trust in you was the worst mistake I’ve made! -Bill yelled furiously and pushed him down with the others’ help so the flood swallows him whole.

-NO!!! PLEASE!! THIS ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!- Ford shouted with all his strength and woke up while, at the same time, Stan entered his room very concerned.

-Ford! What happened?! Are you ok?! -his twin looked at him with frantic eyes, believing something pretty bad had hurt him; however, physical pain was nothing compared to the hell of a nightmare he had.

Ford’s heart was beating like he had run a marathon, his face was covered in sweat and he was pale as a ghost. With just one look, Stan figured it out and heaved a big sigh.

-Wait here, I’ll bring you some water- he got out of the room.

Ford, meanwhile, didn’t know what to do anymore. Was that nightmare a sign that his efforts were just a waste of time? That Fiddleford couldn’t be saved and he had to accept he really screwed up? But then, what? Was he going to give up and tell Stanley to leave because it was too late and tell Fiddleford’s family that he inexplicably disappeared? God, it was too much to process and he was feeling so empty!

-How could I let this happen? -he lamented, covering his face with his hands.

_Worthless, brainless, idiotic, waste of space, imbecile, your friend was in danger and you couldn’t save him, monster, why were you born, you should’ve never been born, freak show, wimp, stupid shit, you won’t change the world, you ruined your friend’s life, you can’t accomplish anything, selfish coward, little scum, such a motherfu—_

-Hey, stop! -Stan yelled firmly startling him, Ford looked at his brother who was holding a glass of water. He was serious and angry, but not the kind of angry that spit hurtful words or break things; it was the rage coming from Stanley’s desire to protect someone dear to him.

-What?

-Drink. NOW -Stan handed him the glass of water and Ford drank everything slowly and a bit clumsily. Then he put the empty glass on the little table. Stan approached him a bit more -Now LISTEN, Pointdexter. First, maybe you can lower your volume all you want, but I know when your mind is talking out loud and this is one of those times. Second, I don’t need to read your mind to know that you’re torturing yourself because of what happened, but that doesn’t mean you have to believe everything that that brain of yours is saying, because it’s not true! You’re not that monster or horrible person that deserves nothing but pain and—

-BUT I AM, STANLEY!!! -Ford snapped. Why his brother had to sugarcoat everything?! It was like in their teenage years, saying that breaking his perpetual motion machine and ruin his chances to go to WCT wasn’t a big deal!! -I AM!!! Heck, I even told you to pay attention to the whole story AND STILL YOU DON’T LISTEN!!!!

-OH, **I** don’t listen?! -Stan raised his voice, angrier than ever and with a deadly serious face that resembled Pa’s -That pretty low even for YOU, Stanford!! OF COURSE, I LISTENED!! Your world-changing work, how the portal went out of control, your friend crying for help, you risking your life to save him. I got the WHOLE story! Besides, do you think McGucket’s life was the only one in danger? WRONG!! Your life was on the line too! You could’ve been swallowed by that machine first or both you and your friend could’ve fallen through AND NO ONE OF THE FAMILY WOULD KNOW ABOUT IT!!! And I'm not saying this because I don't care about your friend's life, but because I can't stand watching you destroy yourself like this!!! BUT, the point is that THIS was purely FUCKING WORST luck, but you tried to save him! That shows that you care, that you want him safe and sound, that you’re a good person, not some shitty scum!

Stan hoped that with that explanation Ford stopped the mental torture. He has lived too many years, in his respective, with those toxic voices and the feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness since Pa’s endless beatings and insults. He didn’t want his brother to go to the same path and fell like an eternal failure when he was anything but that. But just when he was going to say something else, he heard laughter. Hysterical laughter, which worried him and looked at Ford who was crying and covering again his face with both hands.

-I wish I believed you, Stanley. I really wished I believed that. Sadly, there’s nothing I could use to prove it. Sure, I tried to save him but what’s the point in remembering useless efforts?

-You’re being very unfair to yourself.

-Unfair?! -Ford exclaimed in disbelief -Stanley, we’re talking about Fiddleford’s life! I FAILED HIM!!

-You worked very hard to make something great of that machine of yours, not to put your friend in peril, dammit. I do NOT want you to suffer the same problems I had and still have to deal with, Stanford. Feeling worthless, brainless, idiotic, like nothing you do is right, or matter, or is good enough, I know all of that very well, even after that day.

_‘That day?’_ Stanford wondered, but before asking what Stan was talking about, he saw his face and figured it out quickly.

Oh…

So THAT day…

Well… that was kind of unexpected. An unexpected change of topic, to be honest. Actually, not so much. Even much before this mess and calling Stanley, remembering past times wasn’t a very good option because, whenever he got the good times, the science fair incident always came to ruin them and his mood. He couldn’t understand emotions sometimes. He was mad at Stanley for ruining his chances to go to WCT, but deep down he still loved him, he didn’t stop loving him. And reminiscing of his childhood was the proof that he wanted some things to remain the same as their bond when they were for each other. God, he felt trapped: whenever he experienced good moments with good people, something in the future had to go wrong and destroyed his little haven.

But, now that he thought about what Stanley had said, was it true? Was it true that it was just bad -in the worst level- luck which caused the portal accident? That it wasn’t fair for him to blame or torture himself about this? But if he couldn’t blame himself, whom he could blame? Fate, some kind of deity above the skies, karma, luck? Besides, comparing the mistakes of the two, what was the worst and what was fixable?

Stanley’s mistakes derailed his life, he didn’t apologize or come back as if he didn’t care anymore. That hurt Ford, but his mistakes were bigger, no, HUGE than Stan’s. Fiddleford’s life was on the line, his life work was completely destroyed and he failed in fulfilling his promise. So, why things should be upside down? Him not blaming himself and Stan regretting what he did years ago? That also made him wonder something else: did Stan really regret breaking his project? All these years was he regretting that mistake? Or was he feeling bad about it now? After all, he said back then there was a silver lining and it was their childhood dream.

-I thought you only cared about treasure hunting -he murmured but loud enough for both of them to hear. Deep down, he was anxious and confused, a part of him wanted to know if Stanley really felt bad about breaking his science project and the other part wanted to change the topic. Surprisingly, Stan responded:

-Sure, treasure hunting was our childhood dream and I wanted to see it becoming true. But…

-But?

-It was just a little part of how I was feeling. Honestly, I was mad. I mean, one moment it was us against the world and the next you threw me and our plans under the bus in a snap. How do you think I felt? But it wasn’t as if I was starting to resent you or hate you. I was always proud of you and of how smart you are. Still, I was furious! Not only with you but also with myself!

-Yourself? -Ford asked now curious.

-Yeah! I mean, you were gonna leave me behind for some nerd school and the more I thought about it, the more worried and scared I was. And that made me angry at myself too, because what could I do back then? For everyone in Glass Shard Beach, I was a moronic spare, a screwup. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, nobody gave a FUCKING SHIT about my efforts!! They only noticed me when they wanted to rub in my face how much of a failure I am! Hell, I bet they had thought that caring about what I did, maybe a little accomplishment of mine, was like a spit to their DAMN faces, an insult!! So, they decided to just throw insults at me or pretend I never existed!! I had NOTHING left without you, NOTHING to prove! You had your big brain, your nerdy trophies, you were ready to change the world, while I would be stuck in Glass Shard Beach like the worthless futureless idiot people said I would always be, scraping barnacles off the dock! Sure, I have a car, I could’ve escaped that hellhole of a town when I was 16 o 17, but then what? I would still be a loser and to top it all, homeless, without a plan, struggling to survive. Well, the result If I had escaped back then wouldn’t be different from this present, to be honest. And… And… I didn’t want you to go, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t regret destroying your project… It was an accident and I should’ve told you about it, but I screwed up again! I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t mean to break it. You were leaving to do great things, yeah. I was mad at you and at myself, yeah. But if going to that fancy school was going to make you happy then there you had to go. The problem was that I didn’t want to lose you that soon…

-Oh.

Well, that explained a lot of things, not all to be honest but it was an improvement, he guessed.

Stan scrubbed his face with one of his hands and then scratched his neck awkwardly, wondering why of all things his brother and I could’ve discussed, it had to be about THAT day and then go to his feelings of Ford leaving him. Heck, the biggest question should be why did he bring the science fair incident in his attempt to stop Ford of torturing himself mentally and emotionally! Besides, why his twin wanted his response anyway? It’s not that it would change anything, what he expected was that Ford got angry when he told him -kind of implicitly- that he felt bad about ruining his chances of going to that nerdy school and say something like ‘I don’t need your excuses, Stanley! You ruined my life because I had better things to do than wasting my time with a loser, but you couldn’t stand it! You should be grateful that I’m giving you the chance to do something worthwhile with your life so you can make up for your screw ups!’, even when that response could’ve led to a big fight between them which would have made them waste more time.

And it wasn’t as if he didn’t want to have the same connection with Ford like when they were children, but he doubted that his brother would believe that he really regretted destroying his machine, because, let’s be honest, he didn’t come back or call him to apologize… Well, he DID call Ford sometimes, but he was too scared to talk to him, thinking his brother would yell at him that he hated him and hung up, so, saying he was sorry about it -implicitly- maybe wasn’t good enough. Anyway, there were more important things to take care of.

-Let’s take breakfast quickly and keep working on the portal. Maybe there are enough good parts to repair it.

-Oh, uh, yeah yeah. Let’s do it -Ford mumbled, still processing their conversation.

While eating his pancakes -Stancakes to be exact, because his brother insisted to cook for both- Ford’s mind was a big mess of thoughts and questions, especially a very important one: should he tell Stanley about his other resources that helped him to build the Portal? One way or another, his brother would figure out that the machine is too big for just two persons to build it and demand for answers, the problem was if Stan would believe him and keep being helpful. He surprised him by understanding how serious this emergency was and listening to everything. Still, there was a bit of doubt in his mind telling him that this wouldn’t last, that Stanley wasn’t as trustworthy as he pretended to be years ago. However, that perspective wasn’t as strong as before now that he knew why his brother broke his project. All these years believing it was a betrayal from the person he trusted most, but in the end, it was just a mistake made by a stupid and scared kid. Nothing more. Maybe… Maybe, telling Stanley the truth and trusting him again wouldn’t be so bad and it would help with the rescue mission. There was only one way to discover it, though.

-Stanley, wait here. I have something important to take from my room -he said and went to his bedroom, to the little table beside his bed where he hid his journals.

Ford went back to the kitchen and displayed journals 1, 2 and 3’s pages where the portal’s instructions were.

-What is all that stuff? There isn’t anything written there -Stan commented while looking at the many weird designs and symbols.

-These are the instructions of the portal. After… After Fiddleford was swallowed by the machine, I decided to divide the instructions into three parts, each of them in my journals. It was because of shame and a very difficult decision because the only other thing I could do was give up and hide my knowledge. But not, that is out of the list. Now, Stanley, you have told me that you had questions about the portal, right?

That if he had questions? Of course, he had! While helping Ford many hours separating the good parts from the bad ones of the portal, he wondered how on earth his brother and McGucket built something huge like that thing. Not only that, he knew that Pointdexter was a genius; however, a portal that could lead to other worlds? That sound like something coming from a sci-fi movie, where the heck did Ford and his friend find the materials to make the portal?

-Yeah, I have 2 very serious questions: one, were you and your assistant the only ones that built the machine? Because if that’s true, which I deeply doubt, that means you had found some kind of shortcut. Two, it’s not that I doubt your intelligence, heck, you’re the smartest person I know, but a project like this is more familiar with Startreck, and I’m talking about technology, where did you two find what you needed to make it true?

Ford heaved a big sigh of relief mentally. Well, those two questions were expected, but he feared that Stanley would ask him if something or -to be more exact- someone gave him special support on this project. He felt a bit guilty too because of the dejavú feeling: Fiddleford had asked him weeks before the portal test day if he’d got these ideas on his own which led him to doubt if telling him about Bill’s existence was a good idea. But Stanley wasn’t Fiddleford, he wasn’t religious or superstitious; however, that was also an obstacle because even if he explained him about his muse and how they met each other, his brother could think that he lost his mind. So… _‘Maybe for later’_. Yeah, maybe for later.

-For the first and second question what I’ll need to answer you won’t be words but proofs. Proofs you can touch, see, hear. And I know where they are. Follow me. -He said while taking journal 3 and got out of the kitchen, his twin behind him.

Before going to the forest, Ford looked at the wall clock, 5:30 a.m., if they hurried up, they could arrive at least near 6:00 o’clock. He just hoped they were awake when they arrive.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

Walking to the deepest part of the forest -if his suspicions were right- wasn’t something he expected Ford to do. He had told him before getting out of the house that his answers needed to be touched, heard and other stuff for Stan to believe, but what necessarily Stan had to believe? And seriously, what was wrong with that forest? In the last 15 minutes, he had sensed something or someone watching him or following his and Ford’s steps. But maybe, it was just stress and anxiety getting the best of him.

-Stanley -his brother called him and he caught up with him to not get lost.

-Yeah?

-Listen, for the introduction to your first answer I’ll be honest that I thought just Fiddleford and I would be enough to build the portal. But it wasn’t easy with just knowledge and engineering expertise, he was pretty aware of that -Ford said while keeping in line the lump in his throat. The nightmare of moments ago still haunted him-. So, he advised me to hire more people. The more hands, the sooner we could finish. But I refused.

-Why? Because they weren’t engineers like your assistant?

-Good point, but no. The main reason was that the portal project was secret in the most absolute way. Only Fiddleford and I knew about its existence ( _Liar, Bill knows about it too! Hadn’t you decided to trust your twin?! LATER! Maybe for later_ ). I mean, a machine that can open a gateway to infinite worlds and kinds of life that are beyond human’s imagination? People could unleash the truth which could then fall to the wrong hands or the authorities.

-So, you feared someone could think that you were some kind of mad scientist and put you in jail. But, wouldn’t be easier to just explain a bunch of persons why your portal should be a secret? Because, it’s not that everyone in this town is that stupid or forgetful to open their mouths, right?

-That’s the same argument Fiddleford used to convince me. However, I was still adamant in my decision of working the 2 on our own, until he came with the idea to make people forget.

-Making people forget? How? Unless you hit with enough strength someone’s head, they will continue to remember everything.

-It’s not like in the movies, Stanley -Ford responded a bit annoyed-. Fiddleford had his own moral code and he wasn’t the kind of man to resort to those methods, but he brought me -one day- blueprints of a new invention of his that he called ‘Memory-gun’. It was a gun-like device that could shoot a radioactive ray to the head and ‘cut’ the neurons whose function is to save memories.

-A machine that can give you amnesia?

-Something like that, but it isn’t typical amnesia. Depending on the memory you want to get rid of, the ‘Memory-gun’ just needed the exact information, then with pulling the trigger, the work was done. However, I was shocked and disgusted with that idea. The brain damage and the consequences of misusing or overusing that kind of power frightened me, so that option was out of the list. Fiddleford and I… We… We had a very stressful fight that day. He said that it wasn’t like he wanted to make others forget with malicious intent, but if I refused to trust the folks of Gravity Falls and hire more hands to build the portal, then the project would take us not a few months or years, but decades! In my mind, I was divided. I knew he was right but I didn’t want to risk my life work and my freedom, and also his; I deliberated with myself for a long time coming to a conclusion: the portal project needed help that should be well-hidden and with their mouths shut, so the creatures of the forest would be the option.

-Creatures?

-Stanley, do you remember those fairytales like Snow-white and the 7 dwarfs?

-More or less, so?

-Well, one of the many creatures I studied here are similar to them -Ford showed him a page where a dwarf, no no, a gnome was drawn-. Behold, the gnome clan.

Stanford -hoping with all his might- opened a path through the many bushes, showing his brother, luckily, a group of gnomes that were organizing a lot of human food.

-Come on! Quickly! If we hurry up, we’ll have a super-super for breakfast -was ordering a brown-bearded one that was standing in a stump.

-We? -said one of them, raising an eyebrow -Jeff, you’re just standing there. Me and the others are doing all the job.

-Hey hey. Don’t get too whiny on me, Montgomery. One more word and—

-There are humans here! -another gnome spoke, pointing his finger at the Stan twins.

Ford got nervous, ready -at least that’s what he thought- to give an excuse; Stanley, on the other hand, was confused and perplexed. Were these really gnomes like in the fairytales or just a bunch of men with serious issues in the pituitary gland?

-Stanford Pines? -the gnome named Jeff approached the twins with narrowed eyes -What are you doing here? And why did you clone yourself? -he pointed at Stanley.

He snorted annoyed at that insult. -I’m his TWIN, not a clone, genius.

-Stanley! -Ford reprimanded him- Listen, there’s no time, Jeff. Remember the project I made you and your people swear secrecy about?

-The portal? Yeah, so?

-I need your many tiny hands to rebuild it. It’s… It’s half-destroyed and… -he heaved a big sigh before saying again the painful truth- My friend, Fiddleford McGucket, I hope you still remember him, fell through the portal during a terrible accident and he could be in any world surviving or…dying. It’s of utmost importance to reopen the portal so we can save him.

-Mmmmm… I see -Jeff said while touching his beard thoughtfully-. Well, sorry for your friend, but count us out.

Ford and Stan were shocked -WHAT?!!-.

-What? Did you think we would help you after the mess you have caused?

-Wait, mess? Are you still mad about that day? It wasn’t my intention to ruin accidentally your attempt to steal one of the substances the swamp fairies love most. Besides, it wasn’t my fault that your kind decided to backstab them despite the consequences to your fragile truce.

-And still, while we were helping you and Fiddlemord, you couldn’t accept your mistake once we found proofs of you being there that day!

-It’s FIDDLEFORD, you little--! Ugh! Look, if you want to hate me, fine! But I can’t do this alone. My brother and I aren’t enough hands. Please!

-Still the same, NO! -Jeff shouted and turned to his comrades.

Stanley saw Ford’s expression like he had been thrown to a hole full of despair and tried to think of a quick way to make the Jeff-gnome change his mind. The problem was what would be good enough for the gnomes to help them with the portal? He saw the number of frozen hamburgers, eggs, bacon, bread, fries, and even pies they had stolen and an idea come to his mind. A very crazy one but if it helped Ford it would be worth it.

-You want to cool all that for breakfast, right? What if after helping us with the portal, **I** cook a big super whatever for all of you? You won’t have to bother with the work. **I’ll** be your chef…breakfast-chef! -he proposed with his typical salesman’s charm.

-What’s a chef? -one of the gnomes asked.

-It’s someone who cooks delicious meals for other people. And that’s not the best part, but you won’t have to pay anything to get your food ready AND you can have a second round.

-STANLEY!! -Ford, abruptly, pulled him aside to talk to him- Are you crazy?! This is NOT the time to use my house and play restaurant! -he hissed.

-We need their help, genius. Look, I don’t know how many of them are but if they are like hundreds then convincing them anyway it’s our only option. Ford, maybe I’m not the right guy to say this but, in moments like this, when family is in danger, we have to make sacrifices, a lot of them. Besides, if they make some mess in your house, I’ll clean it. You won’t have to take care of it. But just… Just trust me in this.

Stan looked at him with a seriousness pretty rare in someone as irresponsible as his brother; however, by watching his eyes, he could perceive that he meant it in every way and wasn’t just bluffing to alleviate the tension. He sighed, it was for Fiddleford. He would do the same for him.

-Fine, BUT you’d better control them, after all, you’ll be their chef -Stan nodded and turned to Jeff and the other gnomes.

-Well, all of you want you super breakfast, right? What if I give you the best meal you have never had? But first, we’ll need your help of ALL of you. The more hands in the team, the quicker you can eat.

-Mmmmm… You aren’t bluffing, are you? -another gnome asked, tempted but suspicious.

-I mean what I said. This rescue mission is important for Ford so if I have to cook for you to convince you to help us saving Fiddleford, then so be it.

Jeff and his comrades formed a circle to deliberate; some minutes passed which unnerved and frustrated the twins until the gnomes reached a conclusion.

-We’ll help you. Not only us but the rest of the clan -the Stan twins smiled relieved-. BUT, YOU -Jeff pointed at Ford- have to promise, no, SWEAR, that you WON’T interfere in our business anymore, no matter if it’s an accident or if you are just passing by, we don’t want you getting in our way again! Swear it like you made us swear secrecy about the portal and you’ll have a deal! Also, pray your brother is a good chef because if not, we’re out.

Well… It wasn’t a bad deal, to be honest, and they were kind of annoying anyway. So, straightening and raising the right hand, Ford said:

-I, Stanford Filbrick Pines, swear to NEVER mess with the gnomes’ life and business and also, I won’t make excuses like ‘it was an accident’ or ‘I just passed by’.

The gnomes nodded satisfied with his honesty.

-Well, where do we start? -Jeff asked.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

Things went smoothly after that. Sort of. After convincing the many gnomes that attended the rebuilding-the-portal mission to first work 7 hours -even when they thought and complained the quantity of time was too much- in exchange of Stanley cooking for them whatever they wanted, the progress increased greatly. Many parts that were still in good conditions were placed where they belonged inside or outside of the portal with Stanford’s instructions, while he checked multiple times the blueprints to not make any mistake. Stanley, on the other hand, had to admit it, the gnome clan could be very impressive when they wanted, especially when a big group of these tiny bearded men formed a gnome-like giant with excellent precision and organization.

The hours flew by and 6:00 a.m. turned to 13:00 p.m., or maybe a bit more, but as long as the team had their spirits up and worked properly, measuring time didn’t matter. Until, you know, Ford almost collapsed.

-Ford! -Stan yelled alarmed when his twin fell to his knees and breathed with difficulty.

-I-I’m f-fine… It’s nothing… Just stress getting the best of me -Pointdexter said trying to calm everyone down. However, his brother wasn’t going to let him overexert himself to the point of having a heart attack or falling into a coma.

-Fine my butt, Sixer. You almost faint!

-Stanley, I told you! It’s nothing!

-Alright, enough excuses, brainiac. You’re going to bed. NOW.

At the mention of bed, Ford got pretty nervous. It had been utterly disturbing having that nightmare and even with Stan’s reassurances that the portal incident wasn’t his fault, another nightmare could be the death of him. But what if Bill visited him this time in the Mindscape? Maybe he should give his brother’s advice a shot; however, what if his muse was just going to visit him to tell him ‘I’m done with you, Sixer. I’ll find another genius more competent than you to change the world’ and vanished? He really didn’t want to imagine something like—

_VLAHU, ZH KDYH WR WDON. FLSKHU._

Wait, what was that?

_VLAHU, ZH KDYH WR WDON. FLSKHU._

Was he going insane right now, listening to gibberish in his mind? Or it was a message to decode?

_3 LETTERS BACK._

Yeah! It was a message! Ford knew what to do then.

-Stanley, take care of the gnomes, don’t let them break ANYTHING. I…uh… I’m going to sleep. Some hours.

Stan nodded a bit confused about the fast-changing of mind of his brother but relieved at the same time that Ford was going to have some well-needed rest.

While going to his room, Stanford deciphered quickly the whispered message and with nervousness in all his body, he laid in the bed and close his eyes ready -not so much actually- to meet his muse in the Mindscape. Before falling asleep, a little part of him hoped everything went better after this.


	5. Chapter 5: Three-sided snake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's the difference between a sly, talking reptile and a chaos-loving creature? How to distinguish a forbidden fruit from a hollow promise of unmeasurable knowledge? Sadly, there's no difference.

If there was something that Bill liked of humans was that they were too stupid or stubborn, or maybe both, to give up. Sure, there were moments when they lost hope or got bored of doing the same 24/7 without gaining anything in the end; however, a little percentage of that pathetic species wasn’t so fond of the idea of quitting when they were so close to their most desired ambitions. And he was pretty lucky -or Earth was really unfortunate- to have met someone as idiotic and obsessive as Stanford Pines, because, let’s admit it, that guy could even sell his own soul and body to Satan for a bit of applause and approval while condemning everyone else in the process. Wait! Fordsy’d already done that when he accepted the deal! HAHA!

And the teachers and principal of that excuse of a school he used to go to called him a genius! HA! Genius his triangular butt! In fact, the main reason he deceived him with the I’m-your-muse crap was because of how desperate he was for not being labeled as a freak. He was incredibly intelligent, he couldn’t deny it, but while Sixer’s mind put its attention in books, data, and facts, his eyes and ears forgot to be more observant towards everything around him, which made Fordsy the perfect target for his plans, because what could books teach you about someone’s true colors? What a bunch of inked paragraphs could do to stop such a powerful being like him? How equations, science or math could help you to figure out who is trustworthy from who isn’t? Still, Fordsy thought stupidly that he was preparing for the real world when his people-skills were truly shit! HAHA! Hilarious!

Sixer was just a clown, an entertainment, like everything he did and had gone through in his petty life: being bullied, trying to fit in, gaining dumb trophy after dumb trophy just to feel better about himself, his frustration and anger for being in Backsupmore instead of West Coast Tech. Oh, but his best memory to manipulate Sixer was the science fair incident, due to his brother’s stupidity he could have that attention-seeking freak in his claws to do his bidding without questions. Besides, it was so funny! Ford was so divided between his love and concern towards that loser and feeling angry and betrayed because of Mackerel’s mistakes that he didn’t know what to think of his brother anymore. Something that he used for his gain by making him think that Stanley was just a burden, always jealous of his ‘oh so marvelous’ potential. Yeah, right! The only potential he saw on Sixer was the one of a ticket that could get him and his friends out of the Nightmare Realm; at least, in that aspect, he agreed with Fordsy’s father.

Another thing he like of meatbags was that they could make every day interesting, even when they couldn’t control everything. But hey! That’s why he chose Stanford after all! He wanted so much to prove himself that he fell quickly to his trap of universal knowledge and answers which made him delusional like his life was finally on the right path! For circle’s sake, Sixer even imagined himself as one of the big science boys he idolizes fervently! PFFFT! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! The only HAHA the only way that moron was going to be remembered is by being the sole reason why humanity extinguished! Like HA HA dinosaurs! Like his pathetic and scaredy assistant Fiddleloser McCoward.

That day was a full ride on a rollercoaster: the portal opening, his friends’ cheers, his own excitement to reach Ford’s dimension and throw the biggest party of all while gaining powers beyond limit, watching that idiot’s face so full of adoration to him turning scared, horrified at what he has done, making the meatbags of Gravity Falls his new playthings or better! Convince them to hunt Sixer down like in a life-and-death game. There were so many scenarios to imagine, to delight himself with after taking over that dimension…

Until the Nightmare Realm decided to be more unpredictable and unstable than usual and react badly -no, that was an understatement, it reacted FUCKING HORRIBLY! – the same time the portal opened, suctioning whatever on the other side was without control! If someone asked what he hated most, Bill Cipher would have one word on his list: limits. THAT was the bane of his immortal existence. First, in that hellhole of dimension he born in, then when trying to be on the top while Time Baby chased him using his time army, and TO TOP IT ALL when the Nightmare Realm got totally nuts and ruined what could’ve been the happiest and funniest day of his life!

AND HIS POWERS WEREN’T STRONG ENOUGH TO STOP IT!!! DAMMIT!!!

One moment of glory and ecstasy turned to a very enraged and disbelieving one! HE EXPLODED!! A rain of asteroids and fire melted everything in its path while the henchmaniacs refuged scared, and even tried -although in vain- to calm him down, but he didn’t care. The portal had opened and because of the stupid wasteland of the dimension he was in, his door-to-freedom was gone! Then, Teeth nervously interrupted him in his outburst, telling him that there was a human between the shambles. He shrugged it off, thinking Teeth was only saying this to distract him from his rage.

_“No, boss. It’s true. Look, there it is!” his henchmaniac pointed and yeah, there he was. Glassy McCoward in all his misery, trembling, weeping, heck, even praying to his god and peeing on his pants._

Disgusting, pathetic, brainless, useless, stupid, annoying human.

He really wanted to tear him apart, hear his screams of agony, sort of revive him and start with the torture again just for the heck of it! That human believed the Nightmare Realm was hell, oh but no one was more hellish than him. Bill Cipher was hell itself! And he was gonna show it to that good-for-nothing human! Except that his friends that moment were chasing it and tormenting it to also satisfy themselves with some bloody fun, but they should know since forever that HE is the one who can get all that fun first. However, while looking at how Xanthar shook the human as a ragdoll, no caring about the panicked expression of his victim, something -no no- a revelation crossed Bill’s mind. An idea that was pretty obvious the moment Glasses fell through the portal and ended stuck here. HE WAS HIS NEW DOOR-TO-FREEDOM!!!

If Stanford cared enough about McGucket then the portal could be open again and he and the others could escape this dump!!

But first, he needed to stop his henchmaniacs from killing Glasses.

_“STOP!!!” he’d yelled authoritatively and everyone froze in fear “Now listen, guys. I know that our plans of global doom, endless party, and yada yada yada have been derailed a bit”_

_“A bit? Bill, because of the Nightmare Realm’s instability, our exit of here is gone and we only have this meaty snack to lash out at!” Keyhole complained although with a moderate raised voice, knowing what would happen if he angered Bill more when he was in one of his tirades._

_“I know it, Keyhole. Don’t say the obvious, that is a waste of our time. However, even if we have this scaredy meatbag as a ‘prize of consolation’, that doesn’t mean we are stuck here forever! Can you guess why?”_

_“Bill, he’s not Stanford. Besides, there is nothing here for the human to build a new portal to Earth” Amorphous Shape intervened, pessimistic._

_“That’s a good point, but this bonebag here is Sixer’s friend, and if Fordsy wants him back…” he made a long pause to see if the others had understood his point._

_“Oh! I know Billy! This useless human here is the reason why your ‘chosen one’ will open the portal again!” Pyronica responded excitedly due to that scenario._

_“Exactly! See? There’s still time! Besides, we’ve been waiting for an escape since forever, waiting a bit more won’t kill us”_

_“Great. So, we can’t unleash our anger at this human” Hectogorn complained._

_“Don’t be so whiny, buddy. Once Weirdmaggedon comes true, everyone can play with any meatbag they want all the time they please! For now, having this human as our servant will have to suffice”_

Since then, McGucket became his plaything and slave, because, seriously, it was the least that weakling could do to appease him if he didn’t want to see what hell was. But having Glasses in his claws wasn’t the only ‘prize of consolation’ he obtained, watching Fordsy falling apart emotionally was another good entertainment too. Human pain or just overall pain was hilarious, especially after having a very bad day and discovering that the portal that was supposed to be open again for him was half-destroyed.

Stupid earth materials, they were never resistant enough!! Anyone could call him overdramatic or exaggerated, but hey! Sixer was his ‘chosen one’, his blind, spineless puppet who always tried to please him, so it was fair to him making good old Fordsy believe that his oh-so-beloved muse was angry and unresponsive. And his thoughts, oh that was rich! That idiot’s mind was a mess, he didn’t know what to do! Between giving up, calling his family or summoning him, his emotions were getting the best of his rational thinking, if he ever had one.

Ok, too much of going around the bushes, now to the point: Fordsy received a mental message from him to meet each other on the Mindscape, he was betting all his power that Sixer going to beg for forgiveness on his knees which would make the reunion more pleasant. Once he entered Ford’s mind, he could feel the despair and dread cracking his supposedly calculating exterior, but decided to put the temptation of using the human’s emotions for his amusement aside to play his ‘muse’ character.

-Stanford, finally after all this time-. Bill said calmly while approaching the mental projection of his puppet.

-B-Bill… I…- Ford only could kneel in front of him, trembling, expecting his muse’s big tirade.

_‘Oh yeah, Sixer. You have no idea how mad I am, but your pathetic dependence on me at least entertains me’_ the demon thought mercilessly and faked coughing a bit.

-Sixer, what happened to the portal is utterly unacceptable.

-I know… I’m so s-sorry.

-However- Bill continued and Ford looked at him scared and a bit hopeful -, If the circumstances of this failure had been created by your carelessness and incompetence instead by some bad luck that left you in such a deplorable mental and emotional condition like in this moment, obviously I would’ve canceled our partnership and found someone more capable. This tragedy wasn’t something planned and I say your hard work, how focused you were on safety measures.

Ford was shocked at his words and seemed to smile or cry or even do both. Bill, on the other hand, was laughing maniacally, very deep inside of himself. This was so easy-peasy he couldn’t believe it; this human was so addicted to his approval to the point of believing everything he could blabber to him.

-S-so -Ford spoke shyly-, are you s-saying that I have another chance?

-You have said it, Sixer. This is an emergency. We know and even talked about my reservations concerning your assistant, McGucket, but still, I know how much you care about him. Reopening the portal after rebuilding it to save your friend could be the way to overcome this traumatic experience and show me how far you can go to reach your goals.

-That means… - Ford swallowed nervously- That means you’re going to help me? We’re still partners?

-I wish I could say yes to those questions but, there’s something that’s been bothering me…

-What is it, Bill? You know you can trust me, even if I don’t deserve it. I can help.

-I’ve been dealing with a lot of pressure. Being a muse is not a light but a heavy and exhausting duty, and the worst part is that my influence is so big in other parts of the universe that envy and jealousy have become a crux I and only I have to carry. You holding in high regard my opinion and wisdom it’s like a breeze of fresh air, but… I feel that what I gave you after meeting you is not enough.

-WHAT?!!!!

Oh yeah, that was his favorite part in those conversations, making Sixer delude himself about being a scum, a selfish idiot. He still remembered how puppy-eyed and attentive Fordsy was the first time they talked, and those other times when he ‘promised’ him the answers to every mystery of the world and made the deal so he could enter his mind and possess him. Then, that day when he planted the seeds of mistrust and doubt so Fordsy stopped listening to McCoward and his warnings. And now, his puppet would believe he was being demanding and fall to his trap. AGAIN! HAHA!

-Why do you think that, Bill?! There’s no way you aren’t good enough! In fact, you’re perfect! It’s ME who’s letting you down! And still, you want to help me to save Fiddleford!

-Thanks for your kindness, Fordsy. But, after not responding to your calls ( _you couldn’t even suspect that I’m powerful enough to reject the summoning pull, you imbecile meatbag! HAHA!_ ) it’s pretty obvious that maybe, just maybe, a part of you resents me for my absence.

-Oh no… Bill, I’m so sorry. I was just scared of you leaving me behind for not meeting up your expectations, it was a big mistake of mine. I should’ve known that you were busy with other important issues. Be-besides, I felt so idiotic and worthless for not being able to save my assistant that in the end, I projected my doubts on your absence. I’m sorry… It-It was selfish and inconsiderate of me. Please, forgive me.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

_‘Oh Sixer, if you knew WHY your insecurities exacerbated so much HA HA HA HA HA!!!’_

Well, that surprise would be when his apocalypses became true. For now,

-I accept your apologies, Sixer. It’s good to know that we still can trust each other. Now, your emergency. Let me be honest with you, despite my immense power, the portal is the only key to save your assistant. It will boost my energy and let me bring him back to your dimension so he can be safe and sound. For now, my powers are more in a radar mode.

-You can sense if Fiddleford is alive or…or dead?

-What’s that? More doubts yelling at me?

-No, no! I’m sorry, it’s just… I-I had a pretty nerve-racking nightmare and imagining him in a more dangerous situation, or half-dead or… or even dead! That’s just too much for me… for that reason, I… I know this is asking too much of you, Bill, but-- -Ford was interrupted by Bill’s hand while expecting a miracle or the worst.

-I could sense your assistant falling through the portal and landing on a very hostile dimension. I know that, of course, because of the mental and emotional energy he exuded while being in danger. It’s impressive that he is still alive, though. Someone who lacks boldness like him couldn’t survive in such an unfortunate change of environment, so you still have time to fix this mess.

-Oh God… I-I can’t believe it… Fiddleford is still alive! HE IS STILL ALIVE!!! -Ford was ecstatic, shocked, overwhelmed but so ready to embrace this hope that his muse so kindly gave him, he could even fell his tears rolling down his cheeks- I c-can’t thank you enough, Bill. Even when I failed you and couldn’t stop this tragedy, you still give me another chance, and even hope! I’ll work thrice as hard to reopen the portal, Fiddleford will be safe and our plans of changing the world won’t be in hiatus or ruined by bad luck ever again.

Silence came after that, Stanford didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign; however, the neutral and impassive stare of his muse made him feel nervous like he’d done or said something out of line again which could destroy the patched trust between them. But that couldn’t be. Bill still could trust him, he could show him that he wasn’t wrong in choosing him, right? Bill, on the other hand, had his triangular head/body full of ideas of how to break totally Sixer’s dumb and naïve heart. If his puppet thought that losing that coward of an assistant was hellish, what he had in store for little Fordsy once the portal was open would make him with never been born. He just needed the perfect act, the perfect actors and the best opportunity, so how—

-B-Bill? Sorry for interrupting your reflection time, I don’t want to be rude, but—

-It’s okay, Sixer. I sometimes get caught up in my own mind. However, I listened to what you said and I hope you can do it. The portal, once open, not only will let you save McGucket but also grasp all the answers of the universe, unravel the biggest mysteries and demonstrate to everyone the truth behind your Unified Theory of Weirdness!

-And it will be because of you. once this mess is all over, I will introduce you as my benefactor to the biggest and most well-known minds of the world.

-Oh, geez, Sixer. You flatter me. I was just a little push, you did ALL of this, but I appreciate the gesture. And hey, when the big introduction happens, everyone will stop looking at you as a freak or label you like that. Even in your hometown, your sour reputation will change to something bigger and better!! ( _Just for my amusement, of course! HA HA!!_ )

-Yeah! No more ‘freaky four-eyes’, ‘six-fingered freak’ or even ‘smelly mutant’! Everyone will see me and remember me as who I really am! Thanks, Bill, this conversation really boosted up my morale.

-Of course, Sixer, of course. Well, now that everything is in order between us, I let you rest. You will need all the energy possible to rebuild the portal and remember to always imagine how all the world will look at you in the end as a motivation.

-As you mentioned once: I’ll be the man no one can forget.

Bill raised his right thumb towards his puppet as if to say ‘that’s the spirit’ and left.

_‘Oh yeah, Sixer. The whole world will remember you when the portal is open, yeah. Because they will want you DEAD’_ he thought maliciously while containing his laughter.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

Back in the Nightmare Realm, Bill idly watched his friends tormenting Fiddleford mercilessly while also using his all-seeing abilities to keep an eye on Ford, despite being still asleep. Despite the determination in Sixer’s voice and face, he couldn’t let his puppet mess anything up again or even be unprepared when the hellhole of dimension he was in had another ‘outburst’. Besides, he also wanted the perfect scene so he could break Fordsy apart and watching him give up on everything. Mmmmm… Maybe, telling every meatbag in the world that Stanford caused the apocalypses could be—

-Hey, Bill -his train of thoughts was interrupted by Keyhole -, don’t you want to test our toy? You always have the best ideas of how to exploit a new pet.

-Yeah! Besides, it will free us from stress. You know, to get out of our minds the failure of Stanford- Hectogorn said while firing a dagger in flames at Fiddleford who was tied to a spinning wheel created by Bill.

The dream demon then got an idea when he saw the sheer panic in the human’s face.

-Tell me, guys, what would you say of performing an act?

-A what? -asked Kryptos.

-Come on, performance! Like I’m doing with Sixer: pretending to be that ‘benevolent and wise muse’. You know, I was thinking, he believed I’m concerned as him about his pathetic friend and he was even eager to be a hero nor only saving Glasses, but also making the world a ‘better place’. HAHA! Such an idiot, right? Well, once the portal is open and we enter and take over that dimension, I want you to be the bad guys of some horrible dimension who desire nothing but destruction while I’m trying to do the right thing.

-Bill, we ARE the bad guys. This place is hell and you are our boss- commented Pacifier.

-Geez, don’t you see the hints, guys? -intervened Pyronica annoyed -Ford thinks, no, outright believes Bill really is a muse. He doesn’t know what we’re planning, what Bill REALLY wants. When the portal is open, Billy will make him believe that he was trying to stop us from causing trouble, and when the moment comes, BAM!!! Ford will be stabbed on the back and fall apart while the boss and we laugh at him.

-Finally! You should follow Pyronica’s steps, guys. She always catches up pretty fast.

-Oh, Billy, you flatter me - The pink succubus laughed but glared the next second due to Fiddleford’s crying-. SHUT IT, WIMP!!!! -she roared at the poor man who tried to stop his whimpering to not be punished by the bloody monster.

-For real, Bill. Maybe he’s our plaything until getting at the humans once Ford finishes his job but, don’t you think this is beneath your standards? I mean, the only thing that walking piece of flesh does is sob and whine. At least your ‘chosen one’ has more balls -complained 8-Ball while looking at Fiddleford with disgust.

Bill just shrugged it off.

-Meh… He’s just a ‘prize of consolation’. Besides, I want to deliver him the good news and see how much he can collapse.

Using his telekinesis to stop the wheel Fiddleford was tied to, he levitated the petrified human in front of him and freed him from his bonds. The engineer looked terrible. His pants were sticky, smelly and wet for not controlling his pee due to the stress and terror. There were a lot of wounds in his arms, legs, and hands -although thankfully, they weren’t deathly just superficial-, he had some bruises in the left side of his jaw, the right cheek and the front. His eyes were reddish and puffy for the incessant crying and his throat felt dry for the overusing in weeping too. McGucket was trembling like jelly, scared, confused, with tear tracks on his face, praying in his mind that the torture ended.

-Hey, Glassy, I have magnificent news for you! -Bill said with a cheerful smile -or his only eye trying to imitate that gesture-; however, the meatbag was too frightened to care or try to listen which pissed Bill off.

-Hellooo? Are you listening to me, Glassy? You’d better, because I don’t like nor tolerate BEING IGNORED!!!! -the shout was strong enough to shake the ground and Fiddleford fell, butt to the floor, and hugged his knees, rocking back and forth- Tch, you’re seriously a drama baby, aren’t you? Come on! Smile! At least you won’t be stuck in this place anymore!

\- --re –ing -Fiddleford mumbled.

-What did you say? -Bill asked, thinking the human insulted him in a low voice. When he received no response, he looked at Glasses with murderous intent – WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY? -he repeated.

-Y-Y-You’re l-l-l-lying -McGucket stuttered. Bill bursted in laughter like he’d heard a good joke.

-You’re pretty funny, Glasses! Despite being a coward! But no, I’m not lying or bluffing. You want to know why? Easy! Because old Fordsy is working to save you! Neat, right?

Something snapped or stopped working properly when Fiddleford heard his friend’s name. it was like his neurons suffered a short circuit once the news and their consequences settled in his reasoning. Ford was trying to save him. Ford didn’t give up on him. There was a chance he could go back home and being with his family again! But… No! NONONO!! It was wrong! If he returned, the whole world would be in great danger because of those monsters! His wife, his son, Stanford and everyone else… THEY COULD DIE!

-It seems that my message got through you, didn’t it? -Bill stopped his thoughts from keep flooding his mind and Fiddleford looked at him, nor wanting to figure out his intentions more than he’d done. Unfortunately, Bill didn’t give him a chance as he levitated him until McGucket’s face and the demon’s eye were in the same level -You’re really desperate to get out of here. Hate to admit, but we at least have something in common about this place. We REALLY hate it. Especially me. Fordsy is my only ticket out of this hellhole. I thought the portal was gone forever and my plans had failed, but hey! Thanks to you, we all will enter your dimension! Isn’t that great?

-N-n-n-no -Fiddleford whispered pathetically. Bill squinted his eye like not understanding that response.

-Why not? Don’t you want to see your mediocre family?

Harboring all the courage he could, McGucket straightened, despite still levitating, and glared at Bill.

-You’ll bring nothing but destruction. Ford a-and my family l-live there! Y-y-you won’t h-hurt them!

Laughter. Just cruel and mocking laughter expanding everywhere. He was soooo right! Humans were such an idiotic species. So pathetic and stubborn, believing they still have a chance to win that it was hilarious!! And now Glassy McCoward wanted to be the brave one instead of peeing his pants 24/7! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! First, Fordsy became his puppet and believed his every word and HA HA his sorry excuse of assistant tried to put him in his place HA HA HA!!!! Thinking he could be stronger than him! HIM!!! A CREATURE OF PURE ENERGY CAPABLE OF THE WORST THINGS NO ONE COULD IMAGINE!!!

That delusional, worthless, stupid fly!! HAHA!!!

-I can’t believe it!! HAHA!! You’ve really outdone yourself, haven’t you? I didn’t know you could be such a good comedian. Also, do you really think that worrying about that six-fingered loser will benefit you? I mean, ignoring your warnings, rejecting your thesis prototype, thinking only on his own gain, and now this! Such a pushover for letting that happened! You KNOW what will happen if that portal is ready for another try, don’t you, Glassy? Me and my friend will follow you and when our worlds finally fuse, your whole dimension will experience a TRUE PARTY!! So, it’s being stuck with me, make me angry and perish OR let Fordsy take care of everything and then JOIN ME! Even when you’re too boring for my standards, but hey! If you give my offer a chance, you can torture and punish Sixer for ruining your life and all the other pitiful ones I don’t care about. Heck, you will even have front seats to see how he falls apart.

-N-no!! Never! I w-will never be p-part of t-this!

-And why not? I mean, you trusted Fordsy and now you’re HERE, in this mess. HIS MESS!! You know, even when you’re a big wuss, you’ve been pretty perceptive about the portal and its true colors. Well, MY true colors. That’s something I could give you credit for, but did it work? Did Sixer listen to you or at least consider that maybe, just maybe, you were right? Did he think for a second about how you were feeling? NOPE. He didn’t. And still, you’re worried about him.

-You c-caused this. I-It’s because of you he didn’t listen!

-HA! Keep telling yourself that! It’s not my fault that guy ate all my flattery and begged for more, I mean, didn’t you notice how attention-starving he was? That’s why I tricked him! HA! And the best part, OH CIRCLES, the best and funniest part was watching him how he rejected your thesis and believed you wanted to sabotage him! What a joke!! Well, at least you’ll have all the time to yell, curse and insult Fordsy for his stupidity when we enter your dimension! So, why don’t you just relax and SIT DOWN?!!!

Bill pushed him violently and tied Fiddleford’s hands and arms to his body using umbrakinesis.

-Hey guys, the first one who can shoot the back of this meatbag’s pants will gain a WHOLE galaxy!!

-Finally, some good fun! -yelled Amorphous Shape.

-Let’s see how much he endures! -Pacifier whistled and some eyebats came to his side.

Fiddleford got up from the ground as best as he could and run like crazy, not wanting to suffer more of the monsters’ torture. Bill, on the other hand, was using his all-seeing abilities to see if Ford was still sleeping or if he’d already woken up. Some images came to his mind: Stanford waking up -which was good-; Sixer, now more optimistic, having a conversation with his brother -it was very surprising, although in a good way, that Mackerel decided to help Ford with the portal, knowing he’d manipulated Sixer so he could resent his twin much more-; the Stan twins making plans while having breakfast. Well, it seemed everything was in order, for now. Waiting for the portal to be reopen was going to be a big pain on his butt/base, but if he could wait trillions of years for a gullible and smart human to be born and be able to use it, then a little more time wouldn’t be so much trouble. After all, patience is important for a predator to hunt, and this snake was excited to receive from his Eva ABSOLUTE POWER.


	6. Secrets from space and father’s sins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a mission to recollect material goes wrong, Ford discovers some rotten things about his family that Stan just wants to leave behind.  
> Warnings: past child abuse, self-worth issues, graphic violence.
> 
> Sorry for the waiting, many things have happened in my life. Enjoy!

Stanley had a lot of things going on in his mind while traveling to some unknown part of the forest that only Ford knew after hearing his twin’s cryptic commentaries of an ‘incredible and unbelievable discovery buried a bit far away from Gravity Falls’. To be honest, despite being curious about what another kind of weirdness Pointdexter could show him and dealt with -like the gnomes, for example- Stan was more focused on his brother’s changed attitude. Don’t take him wrong, he was happy and relieved that Ford showed a more optimistic face against all the angst and stress of rescuing McGucket; he also hoped that in the next days -if rebuilding the portal was going to be worth a full week of work, no, even more- that upbeat mood of Pointdexter didn’t diminish. Although, there was also the concern that his brother was forcing himself to work with a hopeful smile which was a BIG and ROTUND no in Stanley’s to-do-list. Sure, Stanford needed all the support and encouragement and hope to make this mission absolutely flawless and successful, and also he had to be positive that his assistant was still alive in God-knows-where (even when no one knew, but that would be like a bloody stab to his brother); however, that didn’t mean that it was mandatory for Pointdexter to pretend everything was gonna be okay when from the inside he was just torturing himself again.

Let the whole world calls him selfish and/or demanding, but what Stanley really wanted was to Ford to be open to him about his fears and struggles concerning the mission; he knew that Sixer had been very clear about how he felt with this tragedy, but still it would be good for both of them -even when Stan admitted that a chit chat about feelings wasn’t his strong point- if they revealed some insecurities instead of avoiding the topic or pretend things were going smoothly.

Well, that effort should be more from Ford’s part, so Stan can be totally sure that his twin wasn’t tearing himself apart over the portal incident. That would be too much after everything Pointdexter had gone through. Thankfully, though, Stan didn’t need to be on his guard for his brother’s mental and emotional well-being for two reasons: one, even when Stanford was a genius, it was HIM, Stanley, who could figure out who’s a liar from who’s not; and two, being in the streets for almost 10 years had sharpened Lee’s street smarts pretty well. So, yeah, Ford wasn’t pretending to be fine after sleeping for some hours which relieved Stan; he could only focus on the mission and anything that his twin might need today instead of worrying of a potential breakdown if something went wrong.

The next thing or, in better terms, conflict that was bothering his head was those mixed feelings towards Fiddleford McGucket. All those years in school, Stanley had tried to make his brother have at least one friend or being liked for who he was. Sure, they were best friends, a dynamic duo in their childhood, and Ford was always praised by the teachers because of his big brain, but there were some times when Crampelter and his goons made him feel like a freak show, something Stanley did never tolerate nor forgive. For that reason, he encouraged Sixer to interact with other kids who maybe had the same interests as him. Sadly, every ‘nerdy’ club his twin was part of was full of envious jerks who couldn’t stand the fact that Ford surpassed them effortlessly, so they shunned him out. But now, Sixer had McGucket (again, that nagging doubt of whether he’s still alive or not, but Stan put it aside) and was very obvious that his twin cared a lot about him. Stanley was happy for that, it seemed that beyond Glass Shard Beach, there were people who didn’t mind if someone had six fingers or any other thing. However, apart from being content in that change of environment for his brother, there was a fight between two other emotions too: jealousy and empathy.

If someone asked him why jealousy, Stan would respond that it was half expected and half confusing. Expected because, despite being happy for Ford making a friend after being bullied for so many years, he kind of felt replaced which is absurd if he’s honest with himself. He remembered when he told Sixer and Ma about how he saved Carla McCorkle form a jerk who tried to steal her purse and the sort of date he had with the most beautiful girl of the whole world. Yeah, very cheesy… Unless you also count that time later, she would abandon him for a godforsaken, flower-lover hippy! But still, at that time, when his brother and mother received the news, they were happy. Ford never stopped to tease him although just in a playful way, without any malice. And even Stand was delightful when he introduced Carla to his twin and witnessed how well they got along which relieved him, because as long as his soulmate -if things like that really existed- accepted Pointdexter and treated kindly, then Stanley would be satisfied.

Now, thinking of those times while following his brother through the forest, Stan wondered if Sixer was truly and completely happy knowing that he had a girlfriend or if he was ecstatic and envious in equal measures and hid the jealousy to prevent a rift between them. Had Ford really thought that he would use Carla to replace him? Was he scared that his own twin would do something like that? No, it was ridiculous. He never gave Pointdexter any hint that he would treat him that way.

There was another factor in the jealousy, though, that was more conflicting: the portal incident. Stan imagined himself being swallowed by that giant of a machine, being sent against his will, via accident, to another world or dimension while Ford only could witness the tragedy. What would his brother do next? Would he work as hard as this moment to bring him back? Or would he just abandon him again but to a more merciless fate than being kicked out to the streets, like a way to deliver a well-deserved but also crueler punishment for breaking his project? Would Ford really apply that kind of twisted karma? Again, Stan thought that would be impossible. Sure, he didn’t apologize for that time for the accident and acted like it wasn’t a big deal, but they talked about it and he was honest with Pointdexter about not wanting to hurt him because that’s something he would never do. Besides, whether there are or not reasons to not reopen the portal, that didn’t mean Ford would just leave him in the dust again.

That’s why those stings of jealousy were so conflictive because, for one side, Stanford was caring about his assistant’s life and what he would be going through, something Stan could clearly relate with. Loneliness, despair, hopelessness, helplessness, fear, feeling trapped in an unknown place or environment where there were things that could kill you and there’s no fool-proof plan to return home. He had to experience those horrible feelings when Pa banished him and after that, in every kind of urban hell: prison, Rico and his goons, mafia’s business, prostitution and drugs, a murderous band of delinquents, sick nutcases who wanted a new ‘sex toy’ to play with. Sure, all of that compared to what Fiddleford might be enduring right now looked like children’s game, but the terror and pain were still the same for both of them. On the other hand, though, he didn’t want to believe that his own brother would choose to save his friend while leaving him behind when Stan most needed him. But no. No no no.

NO!

Fiddleford was a stranger for him and putting him in the middle of these conflicting emotions was too much; after all, he was suffering and needed to be saved. Stan might not know him as much as Ford and, yeah, he sometimes was a jerk, but to wish on someone a horrible fate where hope is non-existent and to feel that oppressing loneliness and despair which he had felt for years on the streets… That was something he could never do, even to his worst enemy. Come on! He had still some moral code despite being a criminal! And it’s not that—

-Stanley, look out! -his brother said, stopping his train of thoughts.

Lee felt then how something hard got in the way of his right foot making him fall. Fortunately, he held on to the trunk of a tree to avoid hitting the ground and saw that one of the roots had been responsible for his stumble.

-Shit, that was close -Stanley murmured.

-Seriously, Stanley, you need to pay more attention. This mission will require utmost carefulness, precision, and focus because the place could contain dangerous defenses, even when it was empty the last time I entered -Ford scolded him.

-Sorry, sorry. I was thinking too much.

-About? -his twin asked curious, seeing now that something was bothering Stan.

-Well… Uuuuuhhhh… -he debated with himself if it would be a good idea to spill everything, then concluded that the first part would be enough- I was thinking that obviously many strange and even impossible things have happened and it’s too much to handle. Don’t take me wrong. I’m not regretting helping you, heck, if I told you I would be there for you until we save McGucket, it’s because I meant it. What has been concerning me is how you’re dealing with all of this. If I were in your place and if you had fallen through the portal, I would be devastated, crushed. Fuck, I would’ve gone insane because of the grief, guilt and everything else which I don’t want you to face alone.

-But I’m not freaking out right now -Ford responded confused.

-Yeah, and that’s good. The little rest and your new attitude are the reason why I’m relieved. Besides, it’s not that I don’t believe you because I have street smarts, so I can see who’s lying and who’s not, and you’re not pretending to be positive for the sake of the mission. Heck, if I were you, I would even push all those awful emotions aside and focus on bringing you back while the wounds fester on my mind.

-That’s…a bit extremist, to be honest -still, it was understandable because Stanley was loyal to the family, especially him-. But, even if that was the only way to bring me back, in the hypothetical case that I’d fallen through the portal, you wouldn’t be the same after everything is done.

-Yeah, but if saving your life means destroying myself in the process then it’ll be worth it. However, you don’t deserve to go through that torture and for that reason, I’m here as your support.

Ford smiled, touched by that resolution, despite the morbidity in almost all the commentary, then coughed a bit awkwardly to address the topic of the day:

-Well, as I said before this task will be quite risky for a number of reasons. One, there is a gigantic and ancient source of highly advanced technology, which I used to rely on to build many of my inventions, the portal included, that I hope doesn’t have active any defense mechanisms. But that will be discovered once we’re inside. Two, there is not enough space for creatures bigger than humans like us to enter and the help I got to call today are the gnomes, whose size is good to go with us, and the manotaurs, who will be waiting for us outside during the mission. Three, if for some kind of bad luck, the defense mechanisms are still active despite the time being dormant, then we’ll have to be extremely careful and cunning unless we want to be eliminated or may be transported to an unknown part of space.

-You know, even when you’ve been a bit cryptic with this new mission, I’m kind of succeeding in figuring out where this task is going to be accomplished.

-And you have now a clear idea of the place or--?

-I should be saying right now ‘you’ve got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME’ because it sounds crazy and impossible but hey! You have shown me a half-destroyed portal that leads to other worlds AND a full colony of gnomes, and that including the weird name of this town, which doesn’t make any sense, to be honest, just makes me see there’s a slim possibility to be in front of what people watch in sci-fi movies: a spaceship. Anyway, what the heck are manotaurs? Shouldn’t it be minotaur like in those Greek tales?

-Greek mythology, to be exact -Ford corrected him-. And no, they’re not the same. Their species is called manotaurs because of their devotion of any manly business and their tough and intimidating appearance. Also, I’m quite surprised you came with the right answer of where we’re going and how well you’re taking it.

-Well, it’s that or being in front of a wall and questioning everything you know which would be a waste of time.

Ford nodded, come to think of it, that’s true. The second reaction was the less appropriated in moments like this. The two kept walking through the bushes and trees until they found a huge group of gnomes -Jeff being part of it- and 3, no, 4 muscular, tall and really furry creatures that Lee though was Big Foot’s offspring, all reunited in a certain spot.

-Stanford -said one of the tall monsters and then stopped when it saw Stan.

-Ok, let’s go with the fast introductions -Ford begun-. Stanley, those are the manotaurs. Pubertaur, Wrestlertaur, Testostaur, and Roartaur. Gentlemen, this is my twin brother, Stanley. He’s helping me to save my assistant McGucket.

-So, this question will be silly but, I guess you know Ford’s situation, the basics I mean, right? -Stan asked.

One of the manotaurs, Pubertaur, approached him seriously.

-Stanford talked with the gnomes and they told us the important parts. He’s risking his own life to save his friend. That demonstration of loyalty is the most manliest thing we, manotaurs, have never seen. AND WE ARE MANLY!!!

-MANLY TIL THE END!!! -the others cheered.

-Well, I’ll take that as a yes. So, Pointdexter, what’s your plan?

-Right. Listen, everyone, this is the plan: Stanley, the gnome group and I will enter the spaceship that is buried and find enough material to repair the portal. I’d rather have everyone inside because the more in this mission, the better protected we’ll be. Unfortunately, there’s not enough space for manotaurs to enter so, gentlemen, you’ll have to wait here. However, your part will be crucial too: you’ll have to protect the entrance of whatever outsider or curious eyes you might see. Also -Ford took out of his bag pack some ropes -these ropes will help you to lift the heavy material. One of us will give you the sign to throw inside one extreme of the rope so, keep the entrance open and pay attention. Understood?

The manotaurs looked at each other, then at Ford and nodded determinedly.

-Good. Now, let’s go -Pointdexter lifted the horizontal metallic door that resembled too much the ones of any kind of bunker.

Stan looked the way down that the stairs showed and gulped a bit, not because of the darkness waiting for them but for the height. _‘Calm down, knucklehead. If you could survive years of the streets, then this mission will be easy… Sort of’_ he thought and braced himself to go downstairs after his brother, the sunlight diminishing with each step. He didn’t want to look down, but he felt he should, just to make sure that his twin was safe. His eyes traveled to Sixer, who was wrapped up in this task as always with anything he deemed important. _‘Don’t be such a wuss, knucklehead. Trust Stanford and everything will be alright’_ he scolded himself mentally while going down the last steps of the stairs.

After his feet touched the metallic ground, Ford signaled Jeff and his gnomes to come orderly; during that time waiting for them to be with the Stan twins, Lee adjusted as best as he could his sight to check his new surroundings. He couldn’t believe he was inside, in that exact moment, of a spaceship, and not the ones made up in movies like Star Wars or Star Trek, but an authentic alien ship! And it was FUCKING HUGE! The roof, the hallways, the columns, everything in their reach and beyond was like made for giants and with some kind of weird symbols engraved to the surface.

Stan kneeled and caressed the cold, hard floor to ground himself for this incredible discovery.

-Impressive, right? -Ford’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts. Lee coughed awkwardly and straightened.

-That’s an understatement, Sixer. I can even imagine you fainting after finding something as big as this -his twin chuckled with a fond and nostalgic smile.

-Oh, trust me, I couldn’t stop dancing, overjoyed by such surprise. McGucket was the one who almost fainted, though. I can still remember how his lower jaw was this close to hitting the ground.

Aww, such good times. Ford missed them too…

-Ejem -a fake cough caught their attention-. If you have finished with your reminiscing time already, could you tell us what we have to do to get over this quickly? Seriously, this place is giving me the creeps -Jeff complained.

-Alright. Listen, the last time I was here nothing happened, but this task is highly dangerous and I can’t be in two places at the same time so I beg you to be extremely careful and DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING. Who knows what kind of destructive technology could be activated with a simple touch, it could get us all killed! So, do not separate, do not touch anything and if you hear something weird, DO NOT FREAK OUT. Here, take this flashlight, I have a spare one. Don’t play with it, use it to illuminate your path through the ship. Finally, Jeff, if you or any of your comrades find some components required for the portal reconstruction, you can tear it off the ship. I have some special gear to take care of the material later. Just put everything somewhere safe and yell as much as you can. Also, take this list and don’t lose it. It’s a copy of the materials’ list I have in my bag pack but a bit simpler so you don’t get confused. Be careful.

-Don’t underestimate us, we know what careful means. Ok, everyone, time to work! -Jeff and his big group of 35 gnomes went their separate way, leaving Ford and Stan on his own. Pointdexter then turned to his twin with determined eyes which made Stan nod and started walking the other side.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

If there were times when Stanford Pines didn’t want to be right about something, then this exact moment it was one of those hypothetical times. It happened so quickly he even could barely believe it: he was being too paranoid thinking that the defenses of the spaceship would activate themselves and kill them all, but he never imagined that kind of situation would come true. One minute, he and Stanley were talking about how Ford made some theories about an alien ship arriving at Earth a long, long time ago, and the next one, both twins were hiding for security sphere-like droids whose weapons almost destroyed Sixer’s bag pack.

So yeah, he hated being right about this.

-Psst, Pointdexter. Some idea to create a distraction and get the hell out of here? -Stan asked in a whisper while looking anxiously at one security droid, one of the 4 that had come out, that was looking for them not too far away.

Ford looked at his twin then at the robot, whose only eye didn’t stop scanning the perimeter where the brothers were, and gulped.

-Honestly, no. There are too many ways to get out of here, but also too many variables that could potentially kill us!

-Maybe creating some distraction by throwing a pebble to a corner could work.

-Stanley, these aren’t humans working as guards, but incredibly advanced machines. You can’t expect to fool them with such a simple tactic.

-Hey, it’s not that we have all the time to wait for the gnomes and let them be the bait. Come to think of it, that’s also a good idea.

-Stanley -Ford scolded him with a warning glare.

-Fine. Not using the gnomes… Wait, we can still distract them. I can be the bait.

-Please tell me you’re joking.

-Do you think this is the time for jokes, Stanford? -Stan asked seriously. Yep, knucklehead wasn’t bluffing.

Quickly, Ford grabbed his brother from the shoulders so they could be face to face.

-Are you FUCKING kidding me? That’s suicidal. Those things will turn you to dust! -Ford yelled-whispered for such a reckless idea.

-They won’t. Listen, Sixer, we can’t let those machines destroy us or even find the gnomes, but someone has to distract them to prevent a disaster, and if I’ve learned something useful in my years on the streets is how to fool a furious group of delinquents in an alley or any other place where a chase can happen. Besides, I don’t plan to die. I told ya before, I will be with you in this rescue mission until the end. So, trust me. Even if it’s too much, just trust me.

Ford took time to evaluate the situation and Stanley’s idea: if they followed with the ‘waiting until a miracle happens’ plan, things could get out of control, and if the gnomes get caught in the middle of the fire, Jeff would stop helping them in the portal reconstruction, but if he let Stanley distract the security droids, then he would have time to escape and warn the others, although that would mean sacrificing his brother. That’s something he didn’t want to have as an option. Stanley was his brother, family, no matter if they still were at odds because of past mistakes; besides, losing someone else would be like a death blow to him. First, it was Fiddleford, he’d go insane if Stan died executing this plan.

-Ford, quick. Come on, just trust me -his twin said firmly, even when he was getting a bit impatient.

Sixer remembered his decision of trusting Stanley again and sighed if his brother was serious about not dying then…

-10 minutes -Ford said with a severe expression-. Just. 10. Minutes. And you’d better return in one piece or at least still breathing or I’ll find a way to revive you and punch you hard.

-Roger -Stan nodded and got out of their hiding place, running 7 meters to the right and then yelled-. Hey! Here, you piece of alien crap! Let’s see if you can shoot me!

The droid focused its night vision on Stan who immediately ran like the devil was going to eat him. The security robot chased him while trying in vain to kill him with its laser beams. Pointdexter waited for 2 minutes exactly and when the noise became too faint to hear, he got up and went for the gnomes. With each step, his paranoia and fear of losing his twin increased, his right hand that was holding the flashlight, shook violently and his heartbeat hammered his chest endlessly.

-Come on. Come on. Where are they? -they grumbled desperately for another 4 minutes until he saw some shadows, little, point-headed and moving in disorder.

-Hey! Over here! -Ford moderated his voice to get the gnome's attention without alerting the droids.

-Stanford, what’re you doing here? We haven’t finished yet -one of the gnomes asked while the rest tore apart a big piece of metal from the floor.

-That doesn’t matter now. Call Jeff and the others, there are security robots looking for intruders. We have to escape.

-Wait, robots? What the heck is that? -asked another confused.

-Not the time to ask questions! We’re in big danger! So, tell Jeff what I told you immediately, right now! -the urgency in his voice made the little group to run where its leader was while Stanford followed them to prevent one of them to get lost or do something that could attract the droids’ attention.

Once they were with Jeff and the others gnomes, the warning was delivered which freaked the clan leader out.

-Why didn’t you tell us earlier, Stanford?! That’s why I didn’t want to participate in this kind of mission!

-There’s no time for arguing, Jeff! Everyone, follow me! I know the way! Jeff, behind me, right now! -the gnome grumbled exasperated but obeyed regardless.

Despite being more than 10 people looking for the exit and 1 human leading the way, everyone ran orderly at the same time, taking care of not making so much noise. An explosion then was heard very far away inside of the ship which freaked the gnomes out.

-Calm down and stay together! We can’t lose more time -Ford said firmly, although his voice broke a bit due to his mind playing a horrible scenario after a horrible scenario where Stanley was the victim. Ford shook his head, NO! If he delved too much into this, they would never get out. Whether he liked it or not, his only anchor was trusting in Stan’s survival instincts and skills.

-Hey, how much it will take us to find the exit? I feel like I ran in circles -a gnome complained.

-Keep running! We’re close! -Stanford ordered, his flashlight pointing from one side to the other, expecting an ambush from more security droids or Stanley appearing badly wounded and scared, but none of it happened. Suddenly, after turning around a corner, they could see some light that came from above meaning everyone was meters now from the exit.

-There it is! -Ford let out a relieved sigh and then talked with Jeff- Tell the manotaurs, once you are out that this mission encountered enemies. I’ll explain the rest to them -the gnome nodded quickly and climbed the stairs, his comrades behind and desperate like him.

Wrestlertaur noticed them getting out of the ship which confused him.

-Hey, what happened with Stanford?

-Ask him after he deals with whatever he has to deal with. He’s still inside and according to him, this mission is over -Jeff said while counting his comrades, making sure none of them was lost.

The manotaurs looked at each other wondering what’s happening inside the spaceship. Meanwhile, Stanford got a futuristic gun out of his bag pack and ran to the source of the explosion praying that his brother hadn’t gotten himself killed stupidly, even when he knew that recklessness was a trait Stan always showed. The ground started shaking like a warning about an imminent earthquake: first, it was sporadic movements, but minutes later, Ford’s equilibrium was broken which forced him to stop to prevent to fall face right to the floor. His left hand pointed the flashlight to whatever was causing the tremors until he heard some yelling, a very familiar voice that came from behind him. He turned around and his flashlight showed him the shadow of Stanley who was running away from a security droid.

-Ford!! What THE FUCK are you doing?!

Understanding the meaning of that question, Stanford turned off his flashlight -it wouldn’t be necessary to find another source to illuminate the surroundings, the droid’s eye was doing that already- and readied his gun by pressing some buttons.

-Behind me, Stanley! -he ordered his brother, who quickly got behind him, and shot at the same time as the robot did.

Both attacks created a big explosion whose expansive wave sent the Stans twins flying while the droid was just stunned for a bit of time. Ford got on his knees slowly, his vision was blurry and his head hurt like hell.

-S-Stan… Are y-y-you there? -he seemed to hear a response, although it could’ve been mind messing with him because of the shock. Bracing himself against the pain, Pointdexter shook his head and blinked multiple times to clear his vision, then he saw his brother’s back in front of him.

-S-Stanley? What are--? -Ford thought it was again his battered mind playing games; however, the scenario wasn’t some kind of twisted product of his imagination. Stanley, beaten up and barely standing, was in front of something, both fists raised. It was the same position he used to resort to protecting Sixer from bullies. His hoodie was ragged and all the right sleeve was gone, exposing a burned arm; Pointdexter could notice some pretty deep wounds, but if he saw Stan’s face, he would have an attack. A swollen eye, his nose bleeding, a bruised lip and a cut in his front head. Yep, not the best condition to fight a deadly droid, but Stanley couldn’t care less about the crushing pain and how much blood he was losing due to his injuries when his twin’s life was in danger.

-S-Stan—

-Shut it, Sixer. Don’t move -Lee murmured with the same tone Pa used when giving orders.

Ford, not wanting Stan to notice it, moved a little to see, horrified, the same droid he thought he’d destroyed. The spherical machine was pointing its cyborg-like eye at his brother who was shaking whether for fear or because he was going to faint, but didn’t back down or put his fists down. _‘WHAT THE FUCK, YOU IMBECILE?!!! MOVE!! IF YOU DON’T, YOU’RE DEAD!!!’_ Sixer wanted to yell, but his whole body felt like ready to explode due to exhaustion and injuries, and his mind was a mess of emotions which prevented him to do something. The only thing he seemed to feel was the tears of helplessness accumulating in the corners of his eyes.

Stanley was ready to sacrifice his life for him; he was going to lose his twin, his best friend. He was going to lose someone dear to him again. Then, before Ford could act to protect him, the droid suffered a short circuit and stopped levitating, falling to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Next, just tense silence.

-Fuck -Stan mumbled to himself, his breathing labored-. THAT was seriously a close one.

Wait…

WAS THAT IT?!

 The knucklehead almost gave him a heart attack and this is everything he could say?!

-FOR REAL?!!! -Ford yelled, ignoring the burning pain of his muscles. Stan turned around after flinching due to the shout and raised his hands in a defensive position.

-Hey, h-hey, calm down—

-Don’t tell me to calm down and take it easy, you idiot! You could die! What the hell happened with ‘I don’t plan to die’? What you did was exactly the opposite!!

-Well, it’s not that letting you face that thing alone was going to help, right?!

-I came prepared! I have a weapon!

-Those machines too! Besides, protecting you was the priority in those moments! You’re the brain, Sixer! The leader! If you’re gone, this mission is over!

-It’ll happen if you die too! You… You’ve been helping me hold myself together. The nightmare, the horrible things I thought of myself because of how guilty I was feeling… For you to just die…even if is to save me for my sake and the mission’s too… It’s…

Frustrating, infuriating, selfish/selfless, unnecessary, foolish, absurdly crazy. There were a lot of terms Ford wanted to use; however, seeing the terrible conditions Stan was and the exhaustion starting to cloud his mind, he just sighed heavily. Reprimands would be for later, first, he needed to get the both of them out and attend his twin’s injuries.

-Hold on to me using your good arm -he ordered tiredly, Stan doing it with a somber expression.

After 15 minutes of walk, both found the exit and got out of the ship, Lee having a lot of trouble climbing upstairs due to his wounded arm.

-Stanford! What happened?! -Pubertaur exclaimed, shocked and horrified like his comrades at seeing the twins’ condition.

-Long story. I’ll explain later. Can you give us a lift to my house? I’ll give you the directions during the travel.

Stanley was going to protest, saying that he wasn’t a damsel in distress to be carried by a big, furry creature, but it only took a glare of Pointdexter to shut him up. The return lasted a bit less than Ford expected and, after a short ‘thank you and bye’ to the manotaurs, the Stan twins entered the house.

-Sit on the couch. I’ll bring the whole aid kit -Stanley hummed as a response to that order.

Once he positioned the best he could in the couch without worsening his injuries, he passed his left hand through his face while sighing frustratedly. So, Pointdexter was mad at him for risking his life to save him, ok, he could understand it. Yeah, seriously. BUT, it’s not that there was another plan to use! Sure, Ford had weapons to defend himself but those robots were better prepared, hadn’t he said that the droids were made of highly advanced tech or something? Well, if that’s true, then why using a gun against them?! Besides, the plan was that Lee would be the bait so Ford and the gnomes could escape, he wasn’t done with the job for his brother to interrupt and put himself in danger! And now, he had to listen to Mr. I’m-always-right scolding him and rubbing on his face about playing hero, that he shouldn’t have done it, that he almost died… Some part of him, however, was happy that Stanford was so scared of his death because that meant the dumb genius still cared about him.

-Stanley -he jumped a bit after hearing his brother’s voice-, take off your hoodie and your t-shirt. I’ll take care of any injuries you might have. No buts, ifs or any other excuse you can use.

-What about your injuries? Shouldn’t you take care of that first?

-Sure, if you want to see your right arm get rotten and ready to amputate.

-Fine, fine -Lee grumbled and slowly took his clothes off leaving his torso naked.

Ford grimaced at the sight in front of him: big bruises, first-degree burns and old, awful scars covered the majority of his twin’s upper body. Swallowing, he opened the bottle of oxygenated water and poured a bit in a clean rad to apply it on Stan’s burnt arm. The younger twin stiffened due to the pain but didn’t move nor complain, his brother kept cleaning the injuries carefully of not opening them or infect the burns. Next, he washed the bloody rag in a bucket full of water and made another cleaning in the arm.

-Ok. Let’s go with alcohol to disinfect it.

-I’d rather use red aseptic.

-Sadly, we don’t have it -at that response, Stanley groaned and bit his lower lip when the rag -wet by the alcohol- touched his wounds. Again, he stiffened, opening and closing his left fist to try to distract himself from the burning.

After 10 tortuous minutes, Ford stopped and took a bandage roll to cover the whole arm. That process was also like hell, but Stan just hardened his posture and swallowed whatever complain he had to get over that quickly. However, it came to a stop just when Sixer was very close to finish.

-Uuuuhhhh… Pointdexter, what are you looking at? Why did you stop?

Ford ignored his brother’s questions, his mind in another place after seeing the horrid spectacle in Lee’s back. He couldn’t or didn’t want to imagine what kind of sick cruelty his brother has had to suffer while living on the streets to leave his back so Frankenstein-like. There were too many marks. Some looked big, made by knives or maybe pieces of glass or any other sharp object. Others looked small and circular even when the size varied, Ford assumed they were old burns made by cigarettes or matches glued together. There were also foreign words engraved in Stanley’s back that had scarred pretty badly. _‘Insults from whoever he pissed off’_ Sixer thought horrified. However, those scars were nothing compared to the ones of the center, those seriously wanted to make him throw up. They were larger and bigger, glaring at Stanford in a mocking way, looked pretty deep and even after all the years of healing, it seemed that they were ready to bleed again and cover the floor in haunting red.

Whatever has been used to hurt Stanley’s back that way it couldn’t have been a normal belt or whip, maybe a sharper and deadlier version of the second, which only made him feel worse. Meanwhile, Stan was waiting anxiously for his brother’s response or even for a sign that he hadn’t left the room figuratively, because let’s admit it, being behind him while bandaging his arm could give Sixer a full view of his scars. Especially the center ones, something he really preferred to keep secret until death. Talking about what Pa did to him, the day when he was so close to being murdered by his own father…

Would Stanford believe him or just think that he made up that story?

NO! That’s impossible! What happened was real, not a twisted excuse to demonize Pa, but…

_“All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother’s coattails”_

Suddenly a pair of fingers traced a line on one of his nightmarish scars which snapped him out of his train of thought.

-DON’T TOUCH THOSE!!!! -he yelled, angry like a beast ready to defend itself.

Ford grabbed the bandage roll which had fallen after the shouting and tried to calm him down.

-Stanley, don’t move too much! Your arm’s wounds could open. I’m sorry if touching your scars startled you, but I did it because I was shocked.

-Shocked? -that answer was…what exactly? Expected? Unexpected? Stan laughed in disbelief then, whatever it was, Ford would never believe him nor understand him, but it wasn’t his fault. The genius was just lucky to be Pa’s favorite, after all.

-Shocked… Hahahahahohohohahaha! Shocked?!

-Stanley, stop. Now you’re scaring me.

-Oh, I’M scaring you? Sixer, hahaha, if you knew who did this to me you’d thought I’m not only a liar but also crazy!

-Then who did this to you?

-Why the curiosity over something stupid? It’s in the past.

-Stupid? It’s in the past?! Stanley, your back looked like those mannequins used by swordsmen! How can you say, no, how can you act like it doesn’t matter?!

-BECAUSE HE SAID **I WILL NEVER MATTER**!!! THAT’S WHY!!! -Stan roared, shutting his brother up.

Ford couldn’t comprehend the desperation and his twin’s voice almost breaking for wanting to know what exactly happened. It’s not that the nutcase who hurt Stan was going to appear suddenly and kill them both, right? However, whoever that guy was, he really put Stan at his mercy and traumatized him deeply. That angered Ford, Lee was his younger brother and that monster used him as its plaything. Obviously, he could never change the past, but if his twin told him who did this, he would find a way to help him to recover.

-Listen, pushing you to answer me isn’t appropriated at this moment, but I need to know. Heck, I have the right to, I’M YOUR BROTHER!

-You want to know that bad? Fine! It was a guy whose nickname was Alcatraz, and I made him mad over something silly, so he tortured me to let off steam. Happy now?

Happy? He wanted him to be happy with such a big lie?!

-How can you be that stubbornly selfish, you knucklehead?!

-Selfish ME?! You’re the one who doesn’t shut up and focus on something important!

-THIS. IS. IMPORTANT!!!! After all the times you asked me to trust you since I called you for help, and now you don’t want to cooperate with the same gesture?! What the hell is wrong with you?!

-I asked you to trust me to accelerate the mission. My scars and what P—he did to me don’t matter! -Stan prayed that his little mistake hasn’t been noticed by Ford.

-It matters to ME!! I can’t change the past, but I can find other ways to help.

-Even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.

-You believed me when I showed you the portal, the gnomes, even the spaceship.

-You have PROOFS, genius! Something I don’t!

-Your back’s scars, THOSE scars, evidence enough to me. Please, Stanley. Please, I’m worried about you.

Stan looked at his brother’s eyes and sighed guiltily. He really wanted to forget this topic or at least find something to distract Ford, but he couldn’t. Not with his twin’s pained face which made him feel more than a jerk. He hated when his brother was sad or hurt, he always wanted him to be happy, which wouldn’t happen once he told him the truth. There was also the feared question ‘why didn’t you tell me or someone else?’

-Fuck… Shit! -he cursed, there was no way he was going to get out of this without Ford pestering him on saying the truth- You won’t believe me, and even if you do, you’ll get mad at me. So, don’t blame me, Pointdexter. You brought this to yourself… It happened when we were 11 years old. I don’t know if you remember, but it was on Friday when we won our medals, well I won a medal after defeating one of Crampelter’s goons in a boxing match, you -on the other hand- won a ribbon in a math test if my memory doesn’t fool me. We were very happy and wanted to tell Ma or Pa about it. When we came back from school, you were going to tell Pa that you got another ribbon but I interrupted you ‘cause I was so excited and wanted him to say ‘Good, Stanley. I’m proud of you’. He didn’t say anything and then you told him about your ribbon. However, when everyone was sleeping and I got out of the kitchen after drinking a glass of water, Pa called me. He led me to the basement, closed the door and then… Then shit began. He sued some kind of very sharp whip or belt and started hitting me. He kicked me brutally, whipping my back mercilessly. I don’t know for how long but it felt like an eternity for me. He yelled at me that I deserved that punishment for interrupting you, that I was a worthless fucker, that the family shouldn’t put up with me and my shit and… And he threatened to kill me if I told someone of the family about this. I don’t know where I got enough strength to get out of the basement after he left me halfdead, but I knew that if I didn’t get up out, Pa wouldn’t spare me, so I got up as best as I could and tried to treat my injuries to prevent suspicions. That’s why I was so sick for 2 whole weeks, that’s why I have those hideous scars.

Something felt like breaking inside Stanford’s mind, or was it inside of his heart? Something just didn’t compute. It was like he had woken up from a come and got ready to keep with his life just to receive the news that everything he knew was a cruel lie. And it was sadly funny, really, because at this moment he wanted nothing but to hear Stan’s laughter which would confirm him that that story was a twisted joke of his and that NO, they haven’t lived all their childhood with a monstrous soon-to-be killer who almost murdered Stanley when he was just a kid over something silly and insignificant.

_‘You wanted the truth, didn’t you? You wanted Stan to trust you and tell you about the responsible for his scars. Well, that’s the answer: your father. Happy now?’_

HE WASN’T HAPPY!!! No, screw being happy with truth or lies! He wasn’t satisfied at all either!! This had to be a joke! Why he--?

-To be honest, I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me. You were his favorite child, after all. But I—

-Stop.

\- --sadly was just his punch bag. The only thing I was good for at his eyes.

-STOP!!! -Ford shouted desperately and with tears in his eyes.

Stanley sighed heavily. Yep, that’s why he didn’t want to tell him. Pointdexter, on the other hand, felt like he was going insane. His twin, his brother, was almost killed by their own father, the same person who gave them life. He always knew that Pa wasn’t a fan of emotional stuff and that he used tough love to make them strong for the future, but to find out he was an abusive monster, that Stan suffered and no one knew…

It was utterly terrifying.

-H-hey, come on, buddy. I’d told you before, right? It’s in the past. It doesn’t matter.

-How… HOW can you say that? It was your life, Stanley! YOUR. LIFE!!!! Of course, it matters!

-Pffft. As if -he said self-deprecatingly which angered Ford more.

-Why are you acting like it doesn’t matter?! What you told me is serious! You could’ve been killed! You can’t be that careless knowing it was your life the one in peril!

That stroke a nerve in Stanley that reminded him all his failures, the voices insulting him, the worthlessness, Pa treating him like crap, people looking at him with despise, and just like that he snapped:

-Careless, you say? CARELESS?!! Well, guess what, genius! OF COURSE, I’M CARELESS!!! I’VE BEEN LIKE THAT SINCE I KNOW MY LIFE, ME, IS ANYTHING BUT WORTHWHILE!!!!! So, what’s the point in being mad at Pa or scolding me anyway?! It’s not that whatever he has done or said to me while I was a kid wasn’t pointless! I mean, look at me, Stanford! JUST FUCKING LOOK AT ME! I’m a screwup, a failure, a goddamn disgrace! I worked harder than you might imagine to-to get an ‘I’m proud of you’ or a ‘Good job, Stanley’ from Pa and every time, e-e-every fucking t-time the only thing I received was beatings, insults and feeling more like a fuckup than ever!! I’m not like Sherman who has a stable job, a house and a great wife, hell, I’M NOT LIKE YOU!! When Pa looks at me, it’s like I’d done something horrible or like I will never be good enough which is true because t-there’s nothing I can do that is right! I fuck u-up e-everything! Your project, your f-future, t-the fa-family’s fortune! It’s a miracle Pa only kicked me out instead of killing me! But YOU?! You’re a genius, you always get A’s in any test! Heck, even Pa said he was impressed of you! He… Hehehe… Y-You know… I’ve always wanted those words to be directed to me, but not even being his punch bag could satisfy him, r-right? I-I bet that if I’d died or disappeared much before the science fair, Pa would’ve said ‘The knucklehead finally did something right’. I-It doesn’t matter though. Whether I’m alive or dead, Pa will never be satisfied with me.

-You really have thought that of yourself? -Ford asked quietly, even when he doesn’t want to hear the answer.

Stan sniffed, hating himself for acting so emotional. If the whole family could see him now if Pa saw him crying like a toddler.

_‘Never getting anything right, uh? Such a waste of time you are’_ Stan lamented miserably.

-Yeah -Lee finally responded-. And everything I’ve done is just proof of how much I ruin things.

-D-Did I make you feel like that? -the second answer was going to be worse than the first one, Ford mused worriedly, and even when this issue was focused on Stan, Sixer couldn’t stop thinking that he was a big part of the problem, no matter how hubristic that sounded.

-I never blamed you for what Pa did to me, Pointdexter. I always believed that something was wrong with me or my actions, so I worked harder. Of course, it didn’t work. Getting bad grades, being a troublemaker, or just being me, Pa always found a reason to punish me. Seeing that nothing coming from me made him happy, I decided to stop trying, but the beatings and insults didn’t. Besides, the only time when you hurt me was when you believed I sabotaged you, but we’ve talked about that and I apologized for being a jerk.

-I s-s-should’ve noticed. Fuck! I should’ve done something!!

-Ford, you were a kid like me back then. It’s not that your interference had changed things. I didn’t want Pa to be abusive towards you either.

-Still, Stanley!! You’ve always protected me from bullies, Crampelter, even a deadly security robot! And how did I repay you? Easy, with nothing! I didn’t know, I wasn’t there for you, I couldn’t protect you and make you feel better… What kind of brother is that?

-You can be a dumb genius sometimes, but you’re a good dumb genius AND a caring brother despite everything. Just a bit rusty and sharp on the edges. So, please, don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault.

-It’s not yours either. I know I didn’t cause Pa, no, that FUCKING, DISGUSTING bastard to hurt you that bad; however, I didn’t help you, did I? No one of the family did. You’ve always praised me for being smart, comforted me when I’m sad. It’s my turn now to be the brother I should be years ago and help you recover.

Stan wanted to snort and say something half mocking and half amused because, right now, his eyes were getting annoyingly misty, his throat was feeling a lump that was ready to explode and his lips were trembling like jelly. You know what? Screw it! If he was being such a softy and someone wanted to laugh, he would give them a painful lesson later! Without giving Ford a second to react, Stan hugged him tightly. Surprised, although not negatively, Sixer returned the gesture a bit awkwardly but smiling a little hopeful.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

Hours later, after treating Stan’s injuries and his, and send his brother to sleep, Ford sat on his bed exhausted and emotionally drained. Today’s day was full of surprises and secrets he wondered if it was a good idea to have found out. First, the mission of getting material for the portal reconstruction delayed by the robots of the spaceship, then Stanley almost sacrificed himself to save him and now…

Now, he didn’t know if he had a father.

It was so shocking, disgusting and outrageous!!

All those times when Stanley appeared with a new bruise, cut or stumbling. Those injuries weren’t caused by Crampelter’s goon or an accident, IT WAS BECAUSE OF HIM!!! That pig of a father they had the misfortune to have hurt and abused his little brother for the stupidest reasons, making Stan believe he was worthless! How couldn’t he notice it? He always prided himself for being perceptive, but that bastard got away in everyone’s noses. Ma, Shermie, he felt horrible imagining their pained and guilty expressions once the news reached them. But, what about Filbrick? Ford didn’t have more proofs than Stanley’s words and back’s scars, what if that monster told them that Stan got those scars on the street doing something reckless. He couldn’t let Filbrick be above consequences, it was too risky and unfair for the family! Especially his brother.

Shit! This was too much, Stanford didn’t have any idea of how to fix this and make that violent creature pay for his actions; besides, Stanley obviously didn’t want to talk about the scars and acting without talking to him would anger him. No, that’s it! No matter if it took Ford years to solve this problem, he would make things better. He WOULD make up for not being there or not doing enough for his loved ones. Saving Fiddleford, punish Filbrick for his abuse, being the brother Lee deserved, those now were his top priorities and he’d fulfill them, for his friend and for his twin. He wouldn’t let anyone dear to him down EVER AGAIN.


	7. It won’t be the same, but it can be better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected and feared call make Stan and Ford, especially the latter, reflect on how to face what life can have in store for them. Thankfully, none of the two are alone anymore.

To say that Stanley had woken up hungry and grumpy was a serious understatement.

Actually, his whole body felt sore and ready to collapse after the fiasco of a mission he and his twin had which affected his mood, and his stomach was like eating itself and trying to devour him to be satisfied.

_‘Geez, that adventure really took a toll on me, uh?’_ he thought while scrubbing his eyes. Despite the exhaustion and pain from his injuries, his chest felt lighter for some reason. Like he had gotten rid of one of his many demons. _‘Wait, I just did that when I told Sixer about—’_ About his scars and what Pa -should he call that monster Pa? No, then- what Filbrick did to him in his childhood.

It was strange: at first, he didn’t want to recall how worthless he’d felt that day when that bastard almost killed him, but after telling Ford the truth and sharing how he was always labeled by Filbrick and others, he began to recover. Especially after Pointdexter’s determination to help him healing and not let those thoughts and his pig of a father’s abuse get the better of him. So, maybe there are parts of him that still hurt, but it wasn’t that bad like in the past.

Back then, the only company he had while trying to make a fortune so he could return home were the toxic voices in his head, insulting and mocking him, tempting him with razors and more bloody curs in his arms. Now, however, he had a new purpose, he felt lighter and truly, like TRULY hopeful, and most important, Ford was at his side. Sure, they had a long journey to be best friends like when they’re children, but they have been bonding because of the mission and even talking about sore subjects like the incident of the science fair and what Filbrick had done years ago.

Stan smiled with an optimism that he didn’t know was buried in him: his former self was a homeless and hopeless failure, without a plan to show everyone he was more than what people had always thought of him, but at this moment, Stanley Pines was the anchor of his twin, Ford wanted to help him in his recovery and he didn’t feel alone anymore. It was…good. No, screw that! It was fantastic!

But then, another question came to his head: how much would that last? Would Ford accept him in his life after saving McGucket and even help him heal? Or the mission being over would mean Stan would have to be on the streets again? But Sixer would never put him through that! Besides, if he wanted it, they could reach an agreement and Stanley would have to find a job in the town, a place to live and visit his twin. Yeah, that could be the best option. He wondered if Stanford would agree. Lee then felt the grumbling of his stomach intensify which meant finding some food was the priority right now.

He got up slowly from the couch to not make his wounds worse and went to the kitchen; his eyes widened when he saw a note on the table. The calligraphy was elegant even when it looked a bit rushed, Lee guessing immediately who had written it:

_Stan,_

_If you’re reading this, it means you are awake. Please don’t overexert too much, your injuries are more severe than mine. I went to the forest for some medicine to accelerate their healing process. Also, and DON’T freak out, I plan to go to the SIO (Site of Impact Omega), where the spaceship is, after doing the first task, to gather the materials for the portal. Don’t worry! I am prepared, I have a plan. I’m even going to ask for the gnomes and manotaurs’ help again. There are some ingredients to make breakfast: eggs, bacon, coffee. I know I should’ve stayed and cooked you something, but finding medicines to help your condition is my priority at these moments. That and I know how proud you are, I can still remember when you didn’t want me to ‘babysit’ you the times you got a cold or a fever. Anyway, wait for me. Rest and drink water. I don’t want you to be dehydrated._

_With love,_

_Ford_

Lee smiled touched by his brother’s concerns for him, still, he wanted to tell him to take care of himself too. Stan was too aware of how concentrated his genius of a twin was with some of his projects to the point of forgetting when to eat, go to the bathroom or even sleep.

Well, the only thing he could do was wait for him.

He went to the refrigerator and opened it, looking for the eggs and bacon.

-No milk, no orange juice, not even a jellybean-like cereal. Seriously, Pointdexter, at this rate you’ll starve- Stan murmured and took the food, then he went to one of the shelves, looking for a skillet and oil, and finally lit one of the stove’s burners.

While cooking the eggs, he whistled reminiscing the times when Ma showed him or Ford or even both how to prepared pancakes, scrambled eggs, and other plates. Even when Filbrick sometimes said that that activity was only for women, Stan always felt great satisfaction at cooking for someone of his family, because at his eyes, doing that meant not only making his loved ones happy but also having sort of talent, a utility. However, that thought wasn’t that related to impress the monster who used to abuse him. That was the past when he believed Filbrick’s every word of how useless and stupid he was to the point of obsessing over the task of making him proud and falling to that man’s trap.

Cooking made him feel useful and whole for the people who TRULY cared about him, not the ones who insulted or beat him up for silly reasons. That’s why this activity was giving him more satisfaction than ever. After frying the eggs and bacon, Stan filled a glass with water and sat in one of the chairs he deemed more comfortable, the fried smell of his breakfast was a blessing to him after years of eating poorly and rummaging the dumps.

-Finally, time to eat! -with a big smile, he savored the crispy bacon slices that melted in his mouth and the softness of the eggs.

It was like being given a piece of heaven in a silver pla—

RING! RING!

Then he choked.

RING! RING!

Quickly, Stan drank a bit of his water to get over the choking and glared at the phone of the kitchen wall.

-Seriously, can’t anyone let me eat in peace? -he complained, got up and approached the phone.

His hand took it away from the switch for some seconds, but then he hung up. He asked himself why he did that even when the answer was pretty obvious: he’s not Stanford.

He didn’t know who could be calling his brother, but if he pretended to be Sixer, Ford would get mad at him after finding out. But what if he said ‘Hey, I’m Stanley Pines, Stanford’s twin brother. My twin is busy right now, so please call later. Bye’? Well, if the person wanting to talk with Sixer was reasonable, the response would be ‘Oh, sure. I’ll call later. Thanks’, but the inconvenient -or risk, to be exact- in saying his name would be being recognized by the stranger as Stan Pines, the conman, the criminal due to his banishment to many of the North American states and his TV commercials. And if that happened, then the police would be in Ford’s house which would make his brother freak out completely. Just another problem in the long list of angst Sixer had to deal with.

RING! RING! RING!

Damn it! It’s the phone again!

Stanley tried to think the best plan: pretending to be Ford or saying his true name.

RING! RING! RING!

_‘Come on, knucklehead. Quickly! It could be someone important!’_ he chastised himself, let out a big sigh and took the phone. _‘Just hope Sixer can understand’_ Lee thought before responding:

-Pines residence. Who is it? -Stan mentally prayed to have sound exactly or at least a bit as his brother.

-Stanford, is it you? -a woman asked, confused. Lee raised an eyebrow while talking:

-Yeah, it’s me. Who’s talking?

-Don’t you remember me?

Ok, that was getting weird. Did Pointdexter ditch a girl during his college years or something?

-Uuuuuuuhhhhh… -Lee coughed and thought rapidly on a good answer- Sorry, sorry. It’s just that I’ve been working nonstop and sleep deprivation has taken a toll on my memory, so, could you help me refresh it?

-It’s me, Stanford. Martha. Fiddleford’s wife.

Stanley’s heart stopped after hearing that. McGucket’s wife. Ford’s assistant had a wife! WHAT THE FUCK?!!!

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

It was 3:00 o’clock and Ford felt more rejuvenated than ever. The fairies were a bit difficult to convince in make a healing potion for Stanley, but after telling them that he messed up the chances of the gnomes of stealing their resources as a way to ‘help them’ -a lie he hoped stayed hidden form Jeff and his clan- they stopped acting defensive and prepared the medicine.

The next part of his journey was getting the materials which wasn't that dangerous as the last time. Thankfully, no more droids appeared and both gnomes and manotaurs worked under his orders despite the reservations of the first ones. Now, he was returning home with the part to rebuild a percentage of the portal alongside the manotaurs who accompanied him.

-There it is, gentlemen. My home. Thank you so much for your collaboration. At this rate, Fiddleford will be saved quickly -the scientist said, the furry creatures nodded and smiled.

-Ford! Sixer! -Stan’s voice surprised everyone. Pointdexter hadn’t noticed him sitting on the stairs in front of the shack.

-Stanley? What are you doing here? You should rest -Ford said worriedly while his twin approached him.

-That doesn’t matter. Listen, someone called, someone YOU should’ve talked to me about.

-Who exactly?

-Your assistant’s wife, Martha. Oh, and also, you haven’t told me he had a son either, genius!

Stanford’s face lost color instantly. His mind went white because of that mistake, but more due to the fact that McGucket’s family wanted to contact him and they were still in the shadows about the portal incident.

-Oh god… They called… -Sixer mumbled, shocked and not knowing what to do.

The manotaurs and Lee looked at him worriedly, waiting for a reaction or thinking in how to prevent a soon-to-be mental collapse, but just when Stan was going to do that, Ford shook his head and talked

-Stanley, you’ll have to tell me EVERYTHING you might have told Martha and what she said too. That will be after we work for some hours in the portal. Wrestlertaur, please call Jeff and his gnomes, tell them I need his help on the reconstruction. The rest of you, thanks for your collaboration again. You can return home.

The others manotaurs nodded and went back to the forest while Wrestlertaur went to look for the gnome clan. Ford then took out from his bag pack a flashlight although it looked a bit different due to the piece of glass attached to the lens; he turned on the device and its light -directed at the huge pieces of metal in front of the Stan twins- shrank the materials much to Stan’s astonishment.

-What the heck was that?

-A device that enlarges and shrink objects and living beings. Something I created to make today’s tasks easier. Now, come on, let’s put this in the basement.

Stan was going to say something, Ford may haven’t freaked out as much as he thought; however, that didn’t mean his brother wasn’t troubled with the news that his assistant’s family had called, so even if it was risky, he had to tell him what happened.

-Stanford, listen, I know you told me to wait until we finish with today’s portal reconstruction and maybe another stuff you have to deal with, but I’m worried about you. This news has really messed you up or scared you so much. Look, you told me to wait in the house and rest, but with Martha calling it was obvious that I—

-I CAN’T BELIEVE I WAS THAT STUPID!!! -Ford snapped and the materials he had in his arms fell to the floor.

-Wait, what?

-I should’ve known better, Stanley! That’s what I’m talking about! I met Fiddleford’s family time ago, heck he was always happy telling me stories about them and look WHAT I DID!!! They don’t know he’s in danger! And to make it worse, I WANT them to be blissfully ignorant not because of their wellbeing but for my lack of response!

-What do you mean with that?

-Come on, be realistic, what should be the best answer if they want to know about McGucket’s whereabouts anyway? The truth or a lie? I mean, do you really think it’s a good idea saying ‘Hey, Martha, Tate, guess what, Fiddleford is trapped in another dimension and probably dying and all because of one of my machines’? It’s so disgustingly selfish of me doing that, no, in fact, what IS truly selfish is the idea of lying to them, telling them he just ‘disappeared’ like in a magic trick.

-I understand, Sixer. You’re scared. Telling the truth or lying have their pros and cons, and in these circumstances, there are more cons to consider.

-Oh sure -Ford scoffed sarcastically-. How can you know how I fell in this situation?

Stanley then glared at his twin.

-Hey! Maybe you think I’m just saying this out of pity or to put your mind at ease but because I mean it, genius. If YOU had fallen through your own invention and I was the only witness, of course, I wouldn’t have the guts to tell Ma and Shermie what happened to you! Heck, instead I would’ve faked my own death, pretended to be you, and tried to bring you back in secret. But it’s not that you have to do the same.

-Seriously? How not knowing if being honest or not will help in this situation is not the same?

-Well, for starters, you’ve told me what happened and the gnomes and manotaurs know about Fiddleford’s condition too. You have our help, more from the manotaurs and me than the gnomes, but it’s still help. Sure, things need to be secret and you have to choose carefully who’s trustworthy from who’s not, but at least you’re not alone. And yeah, honesty and lies are the only options if Martha calls again, but maybe while we’re working rebuilding the portal, we come with another solution. Also, don’t worry, if you want to know what Martha and me said to each other, you can ask me now or later.

Lee smiled at him kindly which helped Ford to calm down, although a little bit.

-Maybe later. Let’s go to the basement. There is a lot of work to do, but don’t push yourself, I haven’t applied the medicine to your injuries yet -both twins took the shrunk materials and entered the house, looking for the basement’s entrance.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

The rest of the day, or to be exact, the 5-6 hours of work, went smoothly if Ford had to say it. After the gnome’s arrival and leading them to the basement while instructing Stan how to apply the healing potion to his wounds, everyone worked harder than ever.

Pointdexter never stopped making calculations about the percentage of the portal that was in good condition and what was left that needed to be repaired; 70% had been destroyed in the explosion of the portal test day and from that percentage less than 20% was still usable; fortunately, some vital components of the machine like the Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive were still intact so the mission was still standing too. The scientist looked at the progress he, his brother and allies had achieved with hopeful eyes: 25% of the inner machinery and structure were still in good conditions, so they would only need to gather more materials from the ship; 45% of the outer structure could still be used along the new pieces which would accelerate the reconstruction plan. Now what they needed was to find new components for the portal’s interior and build better safety measures. Oh! Also, he didn’t know where Fiddleford was, Bill had only told him that he was alive, struggling to survive, but alive, so creating a device to locate his friend was also a priority he shouldn’t forget.

With all those calculations and tasks, there were also troubling thoughts plaguing Stanford’s mind like for example, the news Stanley gave him about Martha calling for Fiddleford. That was a big issue.

Since the incident, he’d feared that any member of McGucket’s family could call to talk with his assistant, even if the only members he’d met were Martha and Tate. There were times when he wanted to get rid of his phone and isolate himself more than never much to his disgust and shame. Other times, his sense of duty overcame that cowardly decision, convincing him to call them and being honest. However, his logic and analytic self always argued with his dutiful one saying that telling the truth, despite being the right -in a moral way- thing, it would only bring trouble.

What if they didn’t believe him and tried to find answers? What if Martha freaked out and called the authorities? What if the government found out about this as a result?

Then his life would be over. He would be sent to jail forever or even executed after being labeled as a terrorist while Fiddleford’s family would only mourn, lamenting the engineer’s fate. But it wasn’t as if his life was such a mess compared to his assistant’s for Sixer to just think of what could be best or worst for him. McGucket’s life was the true priority.

There was also another issue that bothered and scared Stanford and that was would everything be still the same after rescuing Fiddleford?

His logical mind scolded him for such a stupid question. Of course, nothing would be the same! No one could be that well-adjusted after such traumatic events, especially if they still were trapped in circumstances that endangered their lives!

However, another part of Stanford, a very childish and afraid one, really wished for things to be the same despite what everyone was going through. It was silly and immature, to be honest, but he couldn’t help himself. Apart from Stanley and Bill, Fiddleford was another treasured friend of his; he could still remember the day they met in Backsupmore. How kind and polite his assistant was with him, how open-minded his behavior was when he notices his six fingers. Ford had never been that relieved knowing that not only in his family -and he was referring only to Ma, Shermie and Stanley- there were people who weren’t disgusted or freaked out due to his mutation, but also in other parts of the country.

His friendship with McGucket was one of the things he enjoyed as much as his meeting with Bill; the nights playing DD&MD or talking about science made him feel like a child once more. But now…

Now he didn’t know if those days would come back. There were a lot of issues Ford would have to help Fiddleford to overcome: his anxiety, paranoia, too many mental and emotional wounds. He wondered if there was at least a little possibility for the old and good McGucket to still be there after the long, draining process of recovery. Heck, would his friend want to talk with him and listen to his pleas for forgiveness? Or would Ford see a deeply angry and resentful face and then a back turned on him?

_‘Now I can understand how hurt Stanley felt when I refused to defend him against Filbrick, believing he sabotaged my science project’_ he thought ruefully.

-Hey, Pointdexter -Lee’s voice snapped him out of his sad thoughts.

-Uuuuuhhh… Y-Yeah? Is something wrong, Stan? Are you feeling better from your injuries?

-Yeah, better than never! That weird medicine of yours made miracles on my skin. Although the only problem was getting rid of the bandages to pout the potion on my burns, that hurt as hell let me tell you, but apart from that, I have never felt with more energy than in my golden days!

Ford smiled; it was a big relief that his twin’s health was taken care of adequately.

-Also, uuhh, maybe it’s time to tell you about my little chit chat with McGucket’s wife if you’re not busy of course -Stan looked at him apologetically, like saying ‘I’m not good at this emotional stuff’.

Stanford couldn’t relate to him better: even rocks would excel in the comforting department. He sighed and nodded. Time to get over this.

-You can start. I won’t interrupt.

-Ok. So, I was eating breakfast and waiting for you when the phone rang, which startled me and I decided to answer, but I didn’t know what to say. No, wait, bad answer. The problem was that I’ve met a lot of people of the underworld: mafia bosses, criminals, delinquents, in and out of jail, oh! And don’t forget my disastrous TV commercials, so, talking with whoever was calling you and say my name would have alerted that person and made them send the police to your house. However, I didn’t want to make you mad by pretending to be you, so I hung up. But Martha called again and then I had no choice but to talk with her imitating your voice as best as I could and then…

_“It’s me, Stanford. Martha. Fiddleford’s wife”_

_“Oh… OH! Martha, haha, what a surprise! ‘For real, you don’t know how shocked I am right now’ Lee thought alarmed “How’s everything going? Something on your mind?”_

_“Stanford, are you REALLY ok?” Martha asked, her tone a mix of suspicion and concern “You aren’t acting like yourself”_

_“Oh no, it’s nothing serious, trust me. Just work and projects that have all my attention. Sorry if I’m being a bit weird with you”_

_“Don’t worry. I know the feeling, although being a parent isn’t as mind-draining as being a scientist. Well, maybe that’s your opinion, but I get it when you say sometimes, someone has a lot in their mind to concentrate, ya know?”_

_“S-Sure. That’s a good point” Stan said while panicking internally because it wasn’t only a wife now but also a child due to the ‘parent’ word, and he really wanted to curse at his dumb genius of a brother for forgetting those details. VERY IMPORTANT DETAILS._

_“You need something?” Lee scolded himself for his rudeness and thought on another answer to save his charade “I apologize. Things have been stressful lately and my schedule is almost full”_

_“It’s ok. I’m just worried about Fiddleford, that’s all. I called you so I could talk to him because I’ve called him a lot of times and he hasn’t answered once. Besides, Tate is missing him a lot -as much as me- and wants to talk to him too. Do you know if he’s busy? No, wait, of course, he is. He’s working with you after all, but could you tell him to stop for a second so we can talk? I’d really appreciate it”_

_WRONG!! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!_

_She didn’t know. FUCK, she should know, but it would be a huge mistake to tell her about the tragic portal test day and the whereabouts of his husband. However, Martha didn’t deserve to be lied to, even if the intentions were good._

_‘What now? WHAT NOW?!! I can’t tell her the truth, but lying to her… Shit, the first time in years I’m feeling bad of lying to someone’_

_Stanley sighed regretfully, there was no choice._

_“Sorry, Martha. But I can’t right now. You see, Fiddleford and I have been working in a very ambitious project that requires both our brains and countless nights of coffee and open eyes. Unfortunately, unlike me, he isn’t much of an owl-like person and collapsed due to lack of sleep. But, don’t worry! He’s sleeping in my room; I’m keeping an eye on him. However, his exhaustion is too much for him so I estimate that 3 or 4 weeks of sleep. It seems too much, but I made very good calculations and he seriously needs it. I know you want to talk with him as much as Tate, but for now, it’s better to let him sleep. BUT, once he wakes up totally recovered, I’ll tell him to call you immediately”_

_“Oh… If you say so”_

_Stan felt like scum for lying to her, despite not knowing her, hearing Martha’s voice gave him the idea of how loving and caring and missed McGucket was in her and Tate’s eyes._

_“It is indeed an exaggerated amount of time to sleep, but a scientist’s math wouldn’t make any miscalculation, I guess. Very well then, please take care of him and tell him we love him”_

_“I will. Trust me” she hung up, leaving Stanley with deep guilt and self-hatred._

-And that’s how it happened. Sorry for, ya know, impersonating you and lie to her. It was my only option, but still sorry.

Ford, after listening to the whole story, covered his face with his hands utterly ashamed.

-Oh, for Tesla. What have I done? -he murmured hopeless and guilty for this situation; however, Stan tried to stop him.

-Sixer, I know that—

-Stanley, have you ever wished for things to stay the same? You know, being all carefree, playful and always having a good time. Blissfully ignorant of whatever the future might have in store for you?

Lee opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it and closed it again. Was Ford trying to avoid the topic or did he want an honest reply?

-Uuuuuhhhh… Well, that question is kind of unexpected, but… But, yeah! Yes, wishing for things to stay the same sounds great.

-Even if it’s useless?

-Ok, I really need some clues because you’ve lost me.

-Have you ever wondered why things always change even when you were having a great time without any alteration?

Still no clues; however, Stan could relate to his twin’s feelings.

-Yeah, I mean, I’ve always dreamed that it would be the two of us against the world, sailing around and looking for treasure and babes and that stuff. But then, you decided to go places on your own and change the world. Everyone expected that from you because you’re a genius and me… They only expected me to be some kind of loser on a dock scrapping barnacles forever. But it’s not that I blame you! After all, I can’t be as much of a Brainiac like you. What I didn’t want either was having a mess between us and for that, I mean being estranged for years.

-And now? How do you feel about us now?

-Mmmmmm… It’s complicated. I’m feeling hopeful because we kind of made up. I said sorry for breaking your project and you said sorry for not protecting from Filbrick, although you shouldn’t have apologized, it wasn’t your fault. I’m also a bit scared because after saving McGucket, helping him with whatever issue he might have and even helping me recover from the abuse in home years ago, what’s next? Will I be in the streets again? I’m not saying this to force you to let me into your house, but I’d like to visit you while living in this town… If there’s a chance to, you know, find a place here to live.

-Oh -Ford muttered and then he came to the realization that he’d forgotten something very important among the many other urgent tasks he had to take care of.

He couldn’t believe he left behind that topic even when he should address it after saving Fiddleford but now that Stanley brought it to the light…

Ford coughed a bit.

-You know, while I was looking for the healing potion and the materials we couldn’t gather in our former mission, I was thinking that maybe I need a second hand with my research and other projects on the future and I don’t want to put more stress and anxiety over Fiddleford’s shoulders. It’s not that his assistance and company aren’t appreciated, but he doesn’t have the gust and level-headedness like a certain person who has faced big horrors for the greater good.

-A-Are you sure? Do you need me in your science/weird stuff? -Stan asked, not believing what his ears were listening.

-I WANT you to join me on this journey. It won’t be the same as treasure hunting; however, the adventure will all be worth it. What do you say, Stan?

-Are you kidding me?!!! I don’t like it, I love it! -Lee hugged Ford as a bear would to a huge jar full of honey, his grin expanding the seconds the hug lasted.

Sixer patted his back affectionately and pulled him away for a more serious matter.

-I’m glad you’ve accepted. However, before that, I’ll need your help and advice in something more delicate than saving McGucket.

-But what can be more delicate -even if that term doesn’t fit in for me- than this mission?

-The aftermath. I don’t know what horrible things he might’ve been going through, but he won’t be the same after that. His personality, his mentality, every mental and emotional aspect of his will be utterly messed up. It will take years of therapy and meditation lessons to mend the wounds, which will be more difficult due to the fact that I was solely the cause of his traumas and he won’t want to do anything with me and—

-Wow, wow, wow, dude. Wait a second. Look, I get it, you feel guilty and ashamed and yeah, I don’t know what other crap Fiddleford has gone through, but don’t you dare to say it’s always your fault. You have hurt yourself too much like this and also that mentality is kind of arrogant of you.

-ARROGANT?!!! -Ford yelled, scandalized- How could it be arrogant?!

-It is arrogant because you assume that every bad thing that happens or could happen it’s because of you. But it’s not true. I told you before, what happened was the worst luck you could’ve had. AND, seriously, no offense to you assistant but if he believes that you were planning to ruin his life and leave him in the dust then he will have to face me if he wants to give you a piece of his mind.

Ford’s mind and heart were divided. For one side, he felt touched by his brother’s loyal and protective nature that hasn’t diminished despite the years of estrangement between them. On the other hand, Lee needed to understand that the portal was Ford’s responsibility as much as Fiddleford’s condition. Sure, what happened the day the machine was tested wasn’t his fault -if he could truly believe it-, but it didn’t mean his hands were completely clean and to be honest, he kind of doubted they would be again.

-Listen, Pointdexter -Ford looked at his brother after being addressed-. I understand that you’re scared and hurt, not as much as your friend, but still, you feel horrible with yourself. You don’t want to lose him or the good times you shared with each other. That’s the same thing I felt when that jerk of a principal said you had a shot to go to a fancy college. I didn’t want to lose you, but I screwed up and hurt you and then you were gone.

-But we’ve made up. I’ve always thought it was sabotage what happened to my project. It wasn’t. Just a mistake, an accident. And also, I already forgave you. However, the incident of the science fair is nothing compared with this mess. No matter how many times I apologize, Fiddleford will never want to give me a second chance, not even listen to me.

-That’ll be for later. Besides, whether he likes it or not, he’ll have to accept that you didn’t abandon him but saved him with every bit of energy and brain you have. At least that will convince him that you’re a really good friend.

Ford’s brain wanted to protest at that commentary, or it was his self-hatred? Well, whatever it was, it wanted to say ‘No, Stanley. You’re wrong’ and list the many reasons why Lee was wrong. His eyes, however, didn’t let him say anything when the moisture clouded their vision, making him blink a few times. Geez, emotions were troublesome sometimes! But for now, welcoming them wasn’t such a bad idea.

-Hey, Sixer, you ok? -Stan asked a bit concerned at seeing his twin who took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

-Yeah, yeah. Just, mmmm, a bit surprised by your sappiness -he responded with a smile.

-Haha, very funny, Ford -Lee mumbled feigning annoyance despite the grin in his face.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

It was midnight already, but Pointdexter hadn’t gone to sleep yet, unlike his brother. His mind had a lot to process, a lot to remember and reflect so he resorted to the best activity to record this and the other days since the portal incident: writing in his journals. In this case, journal 3. Before all the mess and angst, he used to dray and describe his findings, putting his thoughts about the dreams of becoming a well-known scientist like Einstein or Tesla and even some memories from his childhood with Stanley, although those were strikethrough due to his mixed feelings towards his twin. Now, though, his emotions were directed at his jeopardized friendship with McGucket, his efforts to make Bill proud, and his reborn relationship with Stan:

_August 20 th, 1982._

_Today marks the 2 nd… 3rd… I’m not sure, to be honest. _

_Anyway, today marks the 3 rd day after exhausting work on rebuilding the portal. As much as it pains and ashamed me to admit I have to say it, my dream of being as successful as the biggest scientist of history is farther away than what I thought, and to make it worse, one of my closest friends, Fiddleford McGucket, is in danger because of my poor execution in the day of the portal test! It’s one of my worst failures, and I couldn’t even turn off the machine to prevent him from more suffering._

_Everything I’ve worked for, all my research and the sleepless nights thrown away to the garbage!!_

_However, the guilt and anger at myself for Fiddleford’s condition is more crushing! I can’t still believe that he’s gone, trapped in another dimension, fighting for his life. Not only I’ve let him down but also, I’ve disappointed Bill, my muse. Fortunately, he understood my situation and gave me some encouraging news about my assistant: he’s still alive._

_What a good friend Bill is, I can’t thank him enough. He still has faith in me, despite how horrible I feel about myself._

_There’s someone else who is also my anchor in these difficult moments: my twin brother, Stanley. That’s something that truly surprises me. The last time we saw and talked to each other was when I confronted him for ruining my perpetual motion machine and then he was kicked out of the house by Filbrick. Our relationship turned bitter and angry after that, but, after almost 10 years of silence and cold shoulders, he came to help me save McGucket._

_He listened to my story, stopped me when I was hating myself and feeling worthless, heck, he even protected me from a deadly security robot despite being badly injured!_

_I missed him, even if I tried multiple times to deny it._

_We had…some serious heart-to-heart about unpleasant things in the past that we didn’t want to remember if I’m honest. It was awkward and kind of enlightening, for a lack of a better term, when we open ourselves to each other despite being absolutely terrible at this (talking about emotions isn’t common practice in the Pines family if someone asks me) and discovered new and even nasty truths in the end._

_Well, not everything revealed was that horrible. I found out that even when Stan broke my project, he never planned to sabotage me. It was an accident, product of fear, frustration, and lack of communication. He apologized and then helped me realize that I shouldn’t destroy myself mentally and emotionally due to the portal incident, that it was ‘the worst luck’ Fiddleford and I could’ve had._

_It’s touching that Stan cares so much about my psychological wellbeing; however, it’s also my responsibility to save my assistant. If not me, then who? Still, I’m pretty grateful for the emotional support he’s always willing to give._

_It feels like when we were younger and Stan put himself in harm's way to defend me from the bullies._

_Sadly, there are things that I really didn’t want to find out and if ‘fate’ in the mystical/religious sense exists, then it chose an incredibly disturbing way to open my eyes about some rotten issues in my family._

_The first one, Stanley was abused to the point of being almost killed when he was just a kid. The second one, the perpetrator was no one but **OUR OWN FATHER** ; this…this tad of information was shocking and difficult to accept._

_I’ve always known ~~my father~~ Filbrick as a very demanding man, almost impossible to impress and someone who dislikes topics like feelings. But now… After discovering the horrible scars that monster inflicted in my brother’s back, **AS A WAY TO PUNISH HIM FOR SOMETHING INSIGNIFICANT!!! THAT FUCKING PSYCHO!!!** \- I can finally see ~~the man~~ the beast who raised us and who Ma chose to marry with clarity. _

_I can’t believe his true colors were that well-hidden! He even had the fucking nerve to disguise the abuse and torture he put Stanley through as ‘tough love’ if that is what he wanted to drill in my twin’s head!!_

_Beatings, insults, making Stan feel pathetic and worthless… It’s disgusting to think that someone with that dangerous mentality, who loves to manipulate and tear others apart physically and emotionally for their own benefit, is part of my family._

_To top it all, he is still free!_

_I don’t want to imagine the atrocities he could commit against Ma, Shermie or even Shermie’s children if they become burdens or toys to please the perverse mind of that bastard. I won’t let him be above consequences, though. I’ll find a way to put him behind bars until he’s in death’s grasp. I have evidence after all: Stan’s scars, his testimony… But I’ll need more than that, the torture devices Filbrick used to abuse my twin, photos of the place where Stanley was almost murdered. If I make my move carefully and strategically, then Lee and the family will be safe from him._

_The only problem will be, of course, convince my brother of this plan. Make him confess about the origin of his back’s scars put a lot of tension between us and I don’t want that our bonding times go to waste because of this; however, Stan deserves justice. It doesn’t matter if he’s an adult, what he suffered is really difficult to overcome, and no one should go through it. I’ll have to be direct but understanding at the same time, so he doesn’t feel forced and see this option as necessary for his recovery and the family’s safety. Also, if he says that I’m obsessed with vengeance, I’ll just respond with ‘Filbrick brought that to himself’. I just hope Stan says yes. Doing this behind his hack is out of the question because it could destroy the progress in our brotherhood._

_One last thing that I need to write is those mixed feelings of hope and fear, nostalgia and attachment concerning the future and the past, respectively. Although the future is more important in this topic. I don’t know how I’ll help Fiddleford after I save him and even with Stan’s collaboration, he won’t be my friend anymore._

_My twin, protective as always, said that my assistant shouldn’t pin all the blame on me because I didn’t plan to ruin McGucket’s life and I’m working very hard to bring him back, which makes me a ‘really good friend’ according to Lee._

_I feel kind of flattered even when a part of me is still hurt due to the guilt. Anyway, the future as I see it now is going to be mental and emotionally-draining with not only this mission at hand but also helping Fiddleford to recover from the trauma and compensate to him and his family, trying to not let Bill down again and making my Theory of the Unified Weirdness successful. Thankfully, I won’t be alone anymore, because I decided to have my twin at my side and he accepted the offer. I don’t know what kind of challenges life has in store for me; however, as long as I have loyal people backing me up, like Stanley, finding hope won’t be that hard or painful._

_Stanford Pines, out._

After finishing his journal entry, the scientist took some papers and started making some designs for the new safety measures for the portal. The pen scratching the paper the only sound existent in his room during the whole night.


	8. Et cessabit coram tempestate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just 3 weeks, or 4 at most, is the amount of time Ford and Stan need to complete the portal and save Fiddleford. Can they do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so much time to update. Enjoy!

This reunion, if he was being honest with himself, was complete nonsense and for good reasons. One, just because Martha believed his lie -which still made him feel guilty- it didn’t mean that she had given him and Ford 3 or 4 weeks to fulfill a mission only they knew about. Two, Lee had still doubts concerning his lie and was now scolding himself for not creating a better one all while Ford kept explaining his plan. And three, the amount of time they had didn’t seem enough to rebuild the portal as best as they could and bring Fiddleford back.

-Stanley, are you listening? -Ford snapped his fingers in front of him a few times, getting him out of his train of thoughts. Stan shook his head and found himself in the living room, sat on the sofa.

-Uuuuhhh… What? -that obviously wasn’t the right answer because his twin glared at him as a parent or teacher would to a restless kid-. Oops, sorry- he mumbled half-heartedly while still delving in his doubts.

-Stanley, pay attention! Dammit! We can’t advance if you let your mind wander in useless thoughts.

-Ok, first of all, genius, they’re doubts, not useless. And second, don’t you think it’s a bit suspicious that McGucket’s wife has bought my lie? I mean, I just told her that Fiddleford and you were working nonstop for days, no sleeping, no breaks, only coffee to keep yourselves awake and when Fidds ‘collapsed’, the only way to make him feel better was with weeks of sleep. I don’t know about you, but my lie wasn’t so… So uuhh…

-Plausible? Credible? -Ford completed the sentence and Stan nodded.

Now that Stanford thought about it, his brother had a good point. Why Martha would believe that kind of lie? Because, it would only take someone, who hasn’t closed their eyes for more than 24 hours, some rest to recover enough energy and keep working. Although, he wasn’t a doctor specialized in sleeping patterns or disorders to reach a more developed conclusion about this topic. Still, a little part of him was relieved because if Martha truly believed in that lie, then that would give him enough time to save the engineer.

-I hate the fact that I’m relieved that your lying skills were good enough to fool her and buy us time. The consequences of your lie, of course, will be facing Martha’s wrath one Fiddleford starts recovering after the success of this mission. Luckily, your actions don’t have so much weight in this matter as mine, so I assume she will give me a bigger piece of her mind after this mess.

-Yeah, a really big piece -Stan didn’t want to imagine the woman’s ire directed at him, thank you very much. He then looked at the calendar Ford had brought to the living room to explain his plan. There were some circles in red ink encapsulating certain days, and words pointed by arrows that came of the circles-. So, about your plan, could you refresh my memory?

-Ugh, fine, but this time stay focused. For starters, we have 3 to 4 weeks to complete the reconstruction and save Fiddleford starting now, August 20th. The last day is September 16th. What we’ll do in each week is this: from August 20th to 26th, it will be the new functions and mechanisms for the portal to try to localize Fiddleford. For that reason, some of his DNA is crucial. From August 27th to September 2nd, week number two, we’ll take care of the security measures to prevent the same tragedy from the portal test day. Going to the spaceship will be necessary due to the security droids, they are highly advanced weaponized defenses we can use to prepare ourselves once the portal is open.

-Do you remember that those things can blast you off if they see anything strange inside the ship? -Stan commented like trying to persuade Ford to think of safer ways to build the safety measures.

-You’re right. Fortunately, the time when I went there and you were recovering from your injuries, I discovered that those robots that almost killed us weren’t operational anymore. So, investigating their modus operandi and the system behind their weapons is now an opportunity easy and safe to approach. Besides, I have my shrinking-and-enlarging flashlight to make the task much easier. Next is the third week, September 3rd to 9th, to finish the portal and safety measures if there are details to improve them. I’ll have to check once more the portal’s hyperdrive. I don’t want it to overheat or suffer a short circuit because that could endanger everything we have worked for. Finally, the last week, September 10th to 16th, to be honest, I don’t know how much time it will take us to find Fiddleford in the dimension he is in and whatever is in the other side can get out and wreak havoc which will delay the mission. Therefore, we’re going to try twice and only twice to prevent a disaster or an accident even worse than the portal test day. Do you have any questions, Stanley?

-Yeah, what the heck is a hyperdrive?

-It’s the most important element of the portal. It’s what gives it power. If it’s broken or lost, there’s no portal. Now, we also have to handle a serious family issue that MUST be resolved, of course, after Fiddleford is saved.

Stanley was half-surprised, half-curious after hearing there would be another super urgent matter to face. He wondered what problem could Ma or Shermie be dealing with. Perhaps it was Ma’s business of fake phone psychic or their older brother needed something and called Ford because he didn’t know where Stan could be. It’s not that Lee and Shermie were in constant chit chat through the years. Suddenly, Stan’s eyes got that shocked spark, the one when someone had to overcome an obstacle they thought surpassed.

-Shit! Are you saying--? No, wait, please explain because this topic—

-I get it, Stan -Ford said ruefully but prepared to whatever fight-or-flight reaction his brother might have-. Trust me, prodding the festering wounds is not a pleasurable activity for anyone, except masochists maybe. What Filbrick did to you, though, need to be put to the lights of law and he MUST be punished. Look, after seeing those scars and listening to your story, it’s very clear that his actions weren’t excessive child abuse but an attempt of murder! Someone that violent and perverse shouldn’t be free and near innocents like women and children. Besides, even if it is already 2 decades since that night, you deserve justice and…and Ma and Shermie deserve to know.

Lee stayed tensely silent. Ford was still waiting for a protest or a ‘No way. I don’t want that can of worms. Thank you very much’, maybe for his twin to go another part of the house to avoid the conversation. None of that happened, though the unsettling silence remained. Until…

-I’m still confused. There are things I have trouble sorting out. Also, how do you pretend to give that jerk a piece of our minds without putting me in jail accidentally? I don’t know if you’ve forgotten but I’m a conman, I’ve been in and out of prison many times and pissed off the wrong people whose names I’d rather forget.

-Well, that’s true. I remember those scars that maybe come from other criminals, but this isn’t about another crime that you may have committed. The trial will be focused on Filbrick and his attempt of murder against you. The materials to win this trial will be the belt he used that night, a photo of your back’s scars, a photo of the exact part of the basement where he tortured you, your testimony and a good lawyer.

-We don’t have money for a lawyer, sadly. Look, want to know what I think of this plan? -his brother raised an eyebrow like inviting him to say his opinion. Lee joined the palms of his hands in an I’m-gonna-pray-to-God gesture, then gave a big exhale while pointing his still-together hands to the floor-. This. Is. Not going. To work.

Sixer opened his mouth to object; however, Stan hadn’t finished yet.

-Don’t take it wrong, Pointdexter. It’s not that I don’t appreciate you caring about me, but do you really think the jury of the judge will be kind enough to imprison P- Filbrick for who knows how many years and console me? Well, I’m not banished from New Jersey but my reputation won’t help and, in the end, you’ll have wasted your time.

-We don’t know that -was the harsh response, although the hard edge in Ford’s voice came more from a protective determination than anything else-. The judge needs to be impartial and fair, our lawyer must be professional till the bitter end. Furthermore, this isn’t a charity case but justice. No one should feel pity for you. I’m not saying this as a way to insult you, by the way, if we used sympathy and compassion to gain everyone’s favor just to get our revenge on Filbrick, we’d be stepping to his level.

-Now that the word ‘revenge’ is on the matter -commented Stan, a bit suspicious-, do you want revenge for both of us, for you, or just me?

-He brought this to himself, Stanley. Whatever punishment he receives in jail, it will be HIS fault and only HIS ONLY. Let’s be honest here though, after what he has put you through, especially that night, don’t you want to see him fall and pay the consequences?

That was a good question and the answer was obvious. Correction, it was obvious for someone who knew that Filbrick’s actions towards his youngest son weren’t fair nor normal. On the other hand, Stan’s mind was still assimilating all of this and some…unpleasant parts of it were very contradictory with his brother’s plan and intentions. After all, when someone from your own family, someone who you wanted so much to impress and who was supposed to love and care for you, has treated you like crap for years. Insulting you, making you feel the most miserable and worthless human being of all, hitting you behind everyone’s backs and even trying to kill you for senseless reasons… What should you do then? Stanley wasn’t sure, to be honest.

For so much time, the only thing he desperately wanted was Pa/Filbrick/that pig’s validation and fatherly love he used to give to Ford and Shermie if that man ever really had those kind feelings to share. His siblings at least were in his favor. Ford being praised constantly due to his big brain. Though, when it was Stan time, the only result were beatings, bruises, and his self-esteem being crushed mercilessly. And Lee always thought that something was seriously wrong with him, that it was his fault in some way, that he deserved the punishments for being born or stay stuck as a screwup.

Now it was different and he could feel it, but his mind was a mess. A mess where you, no matter the cruelties suffered, label yourself as the failure despite the tons of evidence against your abuser.

-Stanley -Ford called him and for the expression of his face, it seemed he wanted to understand-. Listening to your story was a bitter pill to swallow for me and especially for you. But, even if you feel like his words were true in some sense, don’t let them tear you apart again. You’re not that useless, brainless and selfish person he made you believe you were. You are brave and loyal, heck you saved me from a killing machine! In all honesty, can you imagine a coward like Filbrick doing something as selfless as that? It’ll take time to stop believing he was right about you, but he was wrong. And by putting him in jail, we’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you or the family ever again.

Stan thought once or too many times to count that optimism was a waste of time, that hoping for the best was silly, for the world had always been a hard and unforgiving place when you grew up. Now though, imagining a life of adventure with his brother and his pig of a father getting what he deserved didn’t sound like a bad idea.

-Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! I mean, it’s not that he had the guts to save someone from horrible monsters. Screw him then! He thought I wasn’t man enough, well Filbrick never was man enough! And, hey, if the trial doesn’t work, we’ll kick him out of the house, us and Mom and Shermie. Let’s see if he likes to be on the street like a mutt.

-That’s the spirit! Now follow me, we’re going to McGucket’s apartment.

-Wow, wow, hold on a second. His family is there… Because they’re there, aren’t they?

-Oh, uh -Ford scratched the back of his head while chuckling apologetically-. I should’ve told you this too. When I hired Fiddleford, he was the only one who moved to the town. Martha and Tate stayed in Palo Alto, so there’s nothing to worry about.

-Seriously, you need to give me a warning next time -Stan complained.

Both got out of the house and entered Stanley’s car because according to Lee it would be faster. In 15 minutes, they arrived at the town and Ford gave his brother directions to the motel where Fiddleford booked in.

-How are we going to enter his room without the keys? Unless you want me to pick locks. Not that we’re going to steal anything really.

-Fiddleford may be highly talented in engineering but he resorts to simple and kind of silly ways to hide some of his belongings -Ford looked to both sides of the hallway of the motel. Everything was silent. There was a dark blue, rectangular rug in front of McGucket’s door that said in capital letters ‘WELCOME’. Sixer kneeled, lifted the medium rug and showed his twin a key.

-The key is hidden under the rug. More cliché than the key hidden inside of a flower pot.

-Fiddleford said once that using clichés to hide things was kind of clever because people would believe that option was too stupid that they’d discard it -Stanford opened the door, turned on the light switch on his right and entered- Ok. Stan, this is the plan. We’ll have to gather some belongings that contain a bit of Fiddleford’s DNA. It can be one of two, the maximum is three. Don’t make a mess or anything.

-Geez, you offend me -Lee replied sarcastically.

The apartment wasn’t that big nor that small either. A medium size, even if the old furniture and the dusty TV on the night table of the living room made it look like those deceptive advertisements that fool people in buying what they think is a fancy suite but in the end turns out to be a ratty department, surrounded by noise and annoying neighbors. The kitchen was at his left and the living room at his right, both small but not in a claustrophobic style. He went to McGucket’s bedroom assuming Pointdexter chose to go to the bathroom. There was another room a bit far from those two, though Stanley ignored it.

The bedroom looked a bit disorganized: the bed’s sheets were folded irregularly, there were some wrinkled papers scattered in the flood; there was a medium desk in the right side of the bed, at the end of the room, that also functioned as a dressing table. Stan approached it and looked for something with McGucket’s DNA, then his hand touched a pen in really bad conditions.

-He nibbled a pen. And I thought Ford’s ways to fight anxiety were bad -Lee mumbled remembering how his twin used to pace while nibbling a pen endlessly when exams were near.

He took the pen and keep looking. There was a little notebook open with some paragraphs written on it. Some sentences were crossed out too many times and strong enough to tear apart the paper. Curiosity getting the best of him, Stan read a bit, finding out it was Fiddleford’s diary, but it didn’t stop him.

> _Stanford will be the death to me. I should leave immediately and ~~call the authorities? Maybe? NO! He’ll be sent to jail or I’ll be labeled a crazy man~~ keep living my life._
> 
> _This portal project of his is getting more dangerous and suspicious the more time we work on it. What’s going on in his mind? Is there someone else telling him what to do and swear secrecy? ~~If I used the Memory Gun on him, things would be easier~~. No, no. It’s bad, but this is worse!_
> 
> _The probabilities of failure are too big and he still keeps pushing harder! I just hope tomorrow this portal test goes well or else I’ll have to ~~erase his mind to prevent a calamity~~ knock some sense into him whether he likes it or not._

So, there was some friction between his twin and his research assistant and the portal was the cause of it. Fiddleford was paranoid due to the machine’s dangerousness but Ford shrugged that ‘obstacle’ off. Yeah, typical of him. Whenever something got in his way, or Pointdexter used his big brain to get rid of it or he just deemed it as an irrelevant annoyance.

Stan put the notebook back in its place and his eyes keep searching until they found two things: a red, rectangular, plastic comb and a bunch of rolled blueprints all put inside of a cylindrical-shaped trash can.

Lee inspected the comb hair, there were some residues of dandruff and oily hair on it. Perfect! This was better than the nibbled pen. Then, moved again by curiosity, he took one of the blueprints and read it, or tried to because the equations and ‘nerd rambling’ on it were so confusing that he would need Ford to comprehend a bit.

-Stanley?

-Gaaahhh!!! -Lee yelled and one of his hands clutched his chest- Dammit, Sixer! Don’t do that!

-What are you doing reading Fiddleford’s projects? The plan was to find belongings with his DNA.

-Of course, I know. I was just curious and… -then he looked at the big picture of a gun-like device in the blueprints that he kind of not noticed and noticed while trying to assimilate math and science too advanced for him. _Oh_ -. Ford, remember you told me about Fidd’s Memory Gun?

-Yeah, so? -then Ford’s eyes got the size of plates- Wait, are those blueprints--?

-Of the Memory Gun? Yeah, and the others in that trash can maybe contain the same mumbo jumbo about it too.

In an instant, Ford went to the little trash can and grabbed all the flipcharts, checking each of them minutely. The majority of the blueprints were of the Memory Gun’s construction, side effects, and future improvements. The remaining 3 flipcharts contained designs of mobile computers; a project very dear to McGucket he wanted to make true after helping Ford with the portal. Those 3, Sixer placed them inside the trash can.

-Ok, we have these blueprints and the belongings with Fiddleford’s DNA, because you’ve been looking for them too, right?

-I found a nibbled pen and a com with some hair on it.

-Excellent. Now let’s go, we need to burn these flipcharts because the last thing Fiddleford will need after being saved is using that monstrosity of invention on himself and melt his own brain.

Both twins got out of the apartment, not without checking that there was no one in the hallway, and came back to the shack.

While burning the blueprints of the Memory Gun, Stan thought about the crossed words in McGucket’s diary. He couldn’t read them all because they were strikethrough too much; however, some phrases were a bit noticeable and worried him.

-Ford, you told me Fidds showed you the design of that invention of his, right?

-Exactly, why?

-Don’t you think he has built the Memory Gun and he didn’t want to show you how it looked?

-Where are you getting at? -Ford was getting anxious with Lee’s questions.

-Call me nosy, but I read Fidd’s diary before you came to the bedroom. It said, well he wrote that the portal made him feel nervous, that you weren’t going to stop until it was finished, and if the test went wrong…

-If it went wrong… -Sixer wasn’t liking this.

-There were some sentences crossed. It seemed that whatever he was thinking, he didn’t like it. But I could recognize some words like ‘authorities’, ‘on him, ‘mind’ and ‘calamity’. I bet, although maybe I’m wrong, that he was going to erase your mind.

-That’s… -Pointdexter was going to say that was impossible. He remembered when Fiddleford showed him the burnt remnants of the first Memory Gun’s designs, besides…- It’s nonsensical, Stan. For starters, why erasing my mind If he could rat me out to the police or even the government. If he had done both things to stop me from completing the portal, it would have been counterproductive to his goal. Also, I recall very well that he destroyed the blueprints of his invention.

-And what about the ones we found today? -Sixer opened his mouth but his brain froze just when a response was going to come. His mind tried to find a good explanation for this but the more he thought about these revelations the more he wondered if his assistant was really honest with him.

-Look, I don’t know your friend and coming from a criminal like me it would be hypocritical to say that he was acting fishy. So, the only thing we can do or YOU can do is confront him after we save his life. Even if he gets defensive about this topic.

-Good idea. Alright, now that we got rid of those flipcharts, let’s go to the spaceship. There’s a lot of material to gather to build the new improvements of the portal -the Stan twins entered the home and packed the necessary for their trip to the forest.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

The rest of the day and the first week passed without a hitch. Ford built a DNA detector-radar as a new addition for the control commands of the portal and kept in a special pod Fiddleford’s bits of hair to use once the machine was complete. There were also stored the short-circuited security robots as a way to advance for the second week.

As always, Stanford’s mind had anticipated some steps so the work in other aspects of the portal was easier. He had brought with him the enlarging-and-shrinking flashlight to shrink to a baseball-like size the giant droids. Stanley, on the other hand, helped to carry the four now-small droids and complained about how heavy they were despite being subjected to Sixer’s magical device.

-It’s not magic, Stan, but science.

-How something can be sciency or any other nerd stuff if it came from a forest of fairytale creatures?

Poindexter let it go, not having time to delve on that topic. Not especially when his mind was split in two because of the Memory Gun’s revelations. He could’ve been pretty pragmatic when he told Lee they needed to burn the blueprints found in McGucket’s room; however, he was still in shock -not completely due to the urgent circumstances- that his closest friend has planned using that dangerous invention against him.

According to what Stanley found out in Fidd’s diary ( _After this mess is over, I’ll give him a lecture about the wrongness of violating someone’s privacy_ , Sixer thought), his assistant was really at his wit’s ends concerning the project, the most ambitious project Ford had in mind to get fame and recognition. He could still remember that one day -when the machine was 95% complete- Fiddleford and he went to Greasy’s Dinner to celebrate the fact that they would be the first people, the only two people in demonstrating the existence of other dimensions to the world. It was surrealistic, it was a dream so close to being fulfilled!

Stanford could taste the sweetness of the applause, hear the compliments of every important figure of politics and science. He, alongside Fiddleford, would be in everyone’s history book like Einstein, Tesla, Pythagoras, and many incredibly gifted minds who changed the world. Until Fiddleford delivered him a recently written thesis that had HIS NAME and EVERY FINDING HE CATALOGUED ON HIS JOURNALS!!!! And guess what he said:

_“For the l-last 3 weeks, I’ve been working nonstop to write this thesis for ya. It’s a comprehensive chronicle with the most important discoveries you’ve made in Gravity Falls. I took the time to even cataloged and describe them in the same fashion as your journals. With this you’ll be rich, millionaire beyond your expectations and famous as you always wanted. Publish it, forget about the portal and The Grand Unified Theory of Weirdness, and move on!”_

That was the worst blow and insult he had suffered! He knew that Fidds was reluctant at the idea of turning the machine on, but to ask him to give up when they were so close? If the biggest scientists had done that, the world would be immersed in chaos and mediocrity with idiots getting the best shots and leaving insignificant leftovers to the people who truly deserved being recognized. So, grimly determined, he told McGucket that with or without him the portal would be finished.

Days before the tragic portal test, Fiddleford wanted to quit, in fact, he was doing that in front of his eyes; fortunately (?), Sixer convinced him to stay and the rest is painfully obvious. Now, with the first week approaching its end, there were some unresolved issues or questions Pointdexter needed the answers from. What could’ve been the next course of action if the test had gone terrible but without Fiddleford being swallowed by the portal? Would have he called the police, the government or both to put an end to the project even if it meant destroying friendship and trust altogether? Or would have he used the Memory Gun to erase Ford’s mind of everything portal-related?

Hell, what if he had used it before the test day?! And those blueprints…

Something was seriously fishy about this whole mess. Fiddleford had told him he had got rid of the first designs of that device, but what if he thought that It could be better to make more just in case Ford agreed to the idea of using the invention or in case of a rejection of that plan? Yeah, maybe that was all. Those blueprints were just a backup plan for his assistant, nothing more.

He hoped it was nothing more.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

Starting the second week.

The next step for the Stan twins in their mission was creating weapons for their arsenal and for the safety measures they were going to build. Stanley suggested using 2 of the 4 droids as their personal ‘sci-fi guards’ as he called them if something from other dimension tried to invade the basement. It took Ford like 8 hours, without breaks or even a cup of coffee, to reconfigure the robot’s system so they could only destroy non-human threats.

While doing so, Ford discovered why one of the droids malfunctioned when Stanley got in its way, protecting the scientist.

-You won’t believe it, but it wasn’t the pass of time what caused a short circuit in this robot but the ‘call out’ of its system. You see, when you stood in front of it to protect me, the droid analyzed your physical and physiological reactions with a pretty advanced X-ray scanner to the point of concluding that you weren’t a threat at all. And it was due to you not feeling fear!

-So, in short, by being brave I made that robot implode.

-More or less. You keep your posture firm, you didn’t back down or hesitate, you were calm and stern in front of danger. All those signs were enough for the droid to stop functioning, after seeing there was no threat at all. Besides, this discovery is the perfect weapon. I can create guns specialized in eliminate humanized or animalistic creatures on the other side of the portal whose intentions are just to kill and destroy. Even detect from miles away from any kind of enemy.

_Seems like the nerdlord is having a bit of fun_ , Lee thought happy that this information has lifted his twin’s spirits.

And so, like a boomerang, both brothers went and came from the spaceship many times during the first 3 days of the second week, making good progress in the portal, their arsenal, and the safety measures.

Ford and Stan didn’t know it. Or maybe Ford did know but was too busy to care, but they were being watched. Bill was getting more and more impatient, his energy-based body trying to contain his excitement and destruction-thirst at the idea of taking the Earth and the whole dimension to hosting the biggest and most chaotic party of all. His henchmaniacs were restless, complaining about Fiddleford’s constant whimpering while the cowardly human prayed endlessly to make his living hell of predicament stop.

Then, as a way to kill the boredom or at least a part of it, Bill visited his ‘chosen one’ in his mindscape once Ford was forced by his brother to take maximum 2 hours of sleep.

-Heya, Fordsy! Wow, for someone who’s so close to be a hero and change the world at the same time, you don’t look happy, do ya? -he said cheerfully to his out-of-the-dump ticket.

-Actually, that’s right but it’s because of Stanley. I know my intelligence and knowledge of the portal are essential in this mission, but we’re so damn close and he tells me to take a break and sleep?! I’m not that fragile to collapse just because I’ve been awake for more than 24 hours!

-Geez, it seems that you’re dealing with a serious case of dejavú.

-Why, Bill? Wait, are you implying that he’ll sabotage me? To be honest, I changed my mind about what happened with my project even if the memory is still unpleasant, but Stan was sincere with me. Besides, apart from your wisdom, he’s been a great moral and emotional support.

-Well, I wasn’t talking about that incident that tore you two apart, but the one when your assistant wanted you to give up. I told you before I have some reservations about him and they were true. However, once he is safe and the portal is ready for a big shot, THE BIG SHOT, McGucket will have to accept that you were right. I mean, Einstein never became famous by throwing the towel, am I right?

-You’re always right, there’s no doubt about it. Although, whether Fiddleford thinks I’m right or not it won’t matter. He’ll need tons of help to recover from such traumatic accident -Ford grimaced at the prospect of seeing a deeply scarred Fiddleford never getting the peace he wanted.

-Awww, don’t be that long-faced with me, Sixer. Come on! Smile! Hey, if this helps you feel better, I believe that just with your determination, your assistant’s recovery and changing the world can be reachable. You’re so close! And your brother is as focused as you despite telling you to sleep so you don’t collapse. Between the two of us, you’re lucky Mackerel has guts to face whatever horror the portal might dish on you.

-Mackerel? -Ford raised an eyebrow, confused.

-Just a nickname for your twin. Anyway, remember what I told you about Icarus?

-He messed up because he didn’t flap hard enough.

-Exactly! So, keep the hard work and flap twice, thrice or n times harder than anyone. THAT is the answer to reach your goal. Don’t let anything distract you and the reward will be unforgettable.

Ford smiled at those words like hearing that his prayers were listened. Typical of Sixer, Bill mused, thinking he could surpass the sun even when his wings were already melted. Oh well, as long as he did whatever the dream demon wanted and didn’t suspect anything, Weirdmaggedon’s plan would be safe.

After bidding farewell, Cipher returned to the Nightmare Realm to give McGucket the fantastic news -fantastic for the monster, of course.

-Guess what, buddy! Within two weeks at maximum, the portal will be open and everyone will get out of here! -the demon’s eye had a crazy, cruel spark that made his vision sphere looked like a devilish smirk.

-W-What? -Fiddleford, restrained by 8-ball, mumbled-. F-Ford is what?

-Ya heard it, McCoward! Fordsy is close, oh so close to giving me the entrance of his dimension!

McGucket felt like he was going to throw up. In fact, he had been vomiting because of the horrible tortures and the prospect of the Earth being invaded by Cipher that this new bit of information heaved him. His exhausted, dry throat contracted like his stomach while he imagined a world engulfed in fire and destruction, people crying and cowering away from monsters, rotten corpses scattered everywhere, cities destroyed, and a triangular version of Satan laughing maniacally forever.

8-ball felt his victim’s body trembling like jelly. His claws got a bit wet due to the excess of sweat Fiddleford was exuding.

-The human got the message through and through, boss -the creature laughed cruelly, tightening his hold on the plaything. Then something perversely pleasurable came to the henchmaniac’s mind- Hey, Bill. Wanna guess what I will do once I get out of this hole?

-Enlighten me, my friend.

8-ball sneered at Fiddleford before responding.

-Once we’re on Earth, I’ll look for this piece of shit’s family -McGucket tensed up, his posture like a statue at the mention of Martha and Tate-. Next, I’ll dismember them sloooowlyyyyy while this wimp watches the show -the abomination chuckled darkly at seeing the human’s panicked expression-. And when they are in the brink of death -8-ball’s sinister smile got wider-, I’ll force the weakling to deliver them the final blow.

Bill exploded in diabolical laughter. That’s why he liked 8-ball so much! Apart of Keyhole and Pyronica, he knew how to have fun exploiting others’ pain. His friends were crazy, ruthless, destructive and monstrous. Just the best of the best for Bill Cipher.

-N-No! Nonononononono! I’d rather be dead than letting you touch my family, you devil spawn! -Fiddleford tried to break the hold of the demon but he was too weak due to the stress, constant crying, vomiting, tortures and sleepless nights.

Well, not that the Nightmare Realm had a starry sky to begin with.

-Well, well, well. Look at you, Fiddlewimp. You have some guts after all. Too bad those weren’t enough or too useless when the time came, don’t ya think? Hey, mind if I tell you a secret? I know what you were going to do to Forsdy if the portal test went wrong.

-W-What? W-What do you mean? -McGucket froze, shocked and horrified. Oh God, did that monster read his diary?

-Absolutely, definitely, totally -Bill sang-song mockingly-. The important parts, of course. Like ratting Sixer out of the authorities OR…the Memory Gun which you’ve used on him once.

-Y-Y-You saw that too?!!

-I. SEE. EVERYTHING!!!! -Bill roared, his voice going from cheerful to distorted and terrifying- You, pathetic coward, could’ve ruined my plans of global domination by pulling the trigger of that thing! I knew you were perceptive enough to see that the portal should be destroyed but too scared and loyal to do anything! Whatever hopes you had to make Stanford change his mind, they’re gone!!! I should be thanking you, though. Despite the dangers the Memory Gun might pose against my plans, you only used it on Sixer to protect your only escape from the trauma. Haha, who would have imagined that the shapeshifter had such taste in morbid visions? No wonder you relied on your device so much. Your nightmares here would’ve never happened if you had betrayed that six-fingered freak, but hey! You didn’t! Heck, not even a single call to the government while he was distracted so the worst didn’t come. You. Stayed. Wonder why.

-H-He’s my friend! And you t-tricked him!

-Oh sure, I tricked him. Bill Cipher is the bad guy, the only one. Stanford never thought how you were feeling about this, and if he did, he just dismissed it because it was getting in his way. Sixer will ALWAYS get rid of anything that is a nuisance to reach his goals. To feel validated. He didn’t listen to your warnings and because of him, your life will be ruined. AGAIN!!! And this time the whole world will go down with you. Sad, isn’t it? Who would want to befriend a man who always put others in danger for his own gain? That’s how the world works, Fiddlewimp. The more loyal you are with people like Stanford, the more disillusioned and hurt you’ll feel. But if you’re still on that freak’s side, fine. Once the portal is open and everyone you love is dead or mission, don’t come to my crying to tell you I was right.

Fiddleford didn’t say anything, even when he wanted to protest. Bill’s eye seemed to smile due to his words getting through the human’s head; however, the engineer refused to believe it. Ford was a lot of things but the cause of such terrible apocalypse was just a huge exaggeration. His friend was tricked, manipulated, immersed in the idea of unmeasurable knowledge that could change his life and the world for the better, and yeah, that wish needed a lot of effort to become true, but Stanford was determined and really smart. There should be a way for him to fix this.

**_But if not, then what?_** a scared and tired voice in his head intervened **_Do you really expect him to get you out of here while the consequences of that run free? What about the Gremloblin and the Shapeshifter? Or when you tried to dissuade him of continuing with the portal? In what more messes he’s gonna put you in?_**

Jesus Christ! That’s why he wasn’t cut out for any of this weirdness!

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

It was almost the start of the third week when Stan heard it: a big horrified and frustrated yelled curse. It was like hearing a sailor cursing in different languages without losing a bit of vulgarity. Just what kind of trouble now dared to disturb Stanford in such a way?

-Sixer, what happened?! You sound like Ma after giving an annoying client a piece of her mind.

-I knew it! I had my suspicions but I didn’t want them to be true! -Ford exclaimed while looking at one point of the portal that seemed to be the base.

-Care to explain at least? -Stan asked.

-It’s the hyperdrive. It overheated in the explosion the day the portal was turned on. Fortunately, it could endure the damage thanks to the incredibly resilient metal it is made of, though I’ve made some calculations and it will only take one try. ONLY ONE!!! Whose duration is of 2 hours and a half at minimum for the damage to be unfixable.

-Ok, so we have one try, 2 hours and 30 minutes or else the mission is ruined because without the hyper whatever there’s no way to open a getaway to many dimensions. But, why the freaking out? We’ll just have to hurry and find your assistant to—

-It’s not only about quickness, Stan! I dismantled a portion of the hyperdrive and its interiors, a little percentage of them weren’t so lucky. Someone will have to keep a close eye to it while the other goes to the dimension Fiddleford is trapped and get him out. This is why I’m so frustrated.

-Oh -Stan was speechless. So, Ford didn’t want to stay in the basement, all safe and sound, while his brother risks his life to save McGucket. Some hopeful part of him imagined that Pointdexter hated the idea of losing his twin, this time forever, because of a mess he still felt guilty about. A more realistic voice in his mind told him that his super smart brother felt insulted for not intervening in the mission the way he expected, wanted, so he could relish in the fact that he became a hero.

Wait, that sounded more like Sixer’s frustrated thoughts instead of him imagining what his sibling was thinking with all of this.

-Ford, I don’t know if you’re mad because you won’t be the one technically saving your assistant or the fact that you’ll be worried sick about me and Fidds while I’m in another world trying to save someone AND not screwing everything up. BUT if there’s something that’s obvious is that you’re the brain in this mission. If you weren’t here right now, it would take anyone who isn’t as smart as you like decades to master that thing. I mean, it would take me half my life saving you if you were inside.

-Being the brain is not enough, Stanley!! I was such a mess when you came to Gravity Falls. You slapped some sense into me so I could start working appropriately and never stopped giving me advice. What I lacked to make important steps was emotional support. I felt so guilty, hating myself enough to even fall to depression that not even my intellect could get me out of it.

-You were always such an awkward dumbass when it was about feelings and dealing with them.

-Not now, Stanley -Ford glared at him.

-Tell me the truth, are you blaming yourself because of the stupid idea of dragging me in this mess?

-Why not? Fiddleford is in danger, his family is ignorant about it and I promised him that everything would be alright. Ha! What a scam of a promise! And now you’re going to risk your life to help me fix this mess, MY mess.

-Well -Stan put a comforting hand in his brother’s shoulder-, it’s not that I spent my time doing something good for a while, did I? I’m a criminal, not a single penny in my pockets and dropped out of school. At least, I won’t be wasting my energy trying to get rich to impress a man who never gave a shit about me. I’ll be using it to help my favorite brother.

-If Shermie heard you, he’d smack you for sure -Ford smiled a bit.

-Meh, it’s not the worst scolding I could get of him. And I said it before, wherever we go, we go together, even in moments like this.

-But what if you don’t come back? I lost Fiddleford, I almost lost you in the spaceship. What if by bringing him back, I lose you?

That was a good question. Still…

-Then blame me, brainiac. It’ll be my fault -Stan said resolutely.

Ford looked at him as if Stan has 2 or 3 heads talking at the same time. Lee returned the same gesture as daring him to question his resolution.

-What? It’s true. I mean, after all the failures I’ve made this might not be different.

-You’re not helping your case, knucklehead.

-Let me finish, dammit -Stan groaned-. Look, a lot of things can go wrong whether we turn on the machine or while I’m inside the portal. I might not make it in time, I might get myself… -Lee swallowed hardly- killed in the stupidest ways. I might not find Fiddleford in a good condition -Stan grimaced at that prospect and flinched at seeing Ford getting pale- Or… I hate to say it, but I might find him at the brink of death or as a corpse. We may get trapped or one of us may die while the other survive and return home. Again, a heckuva lot of possibilities. That doesn’t mean you’re dragging me down nor will be the reason for which you’ll blame yourself, because I won’t allow you. I won’t let you hurt yourself and believe you’re a shitty scum, and most importantly, I won’t hate you if something bad happens ‘cause whatever happens, it will be MY fault.

Silence followed after that statement. Ford closed his eyes and shook his head though not in disappointment. Anything but that. His chest felt a wave of awe at Lee’s willingness to help despite the dangerousness and high probabilities of being stuck in another dimension or death to make it worse. He sounded so confident and calm even. It wasn’t like those days when his brother seemed scared of the future while he was excited at the prospect of studying in WCT, becoming a great scientist and changing the world.

The roles have really reversed, haven’t they?

-Before all of this -Pointdexter mused-, I was sure I would do great things if I was in West Coast Tech and maybe I didn’t notice due to being too happy imagining my future there, but you weren’t that keen of me leaving because no one told you the same things they did me. I was labeled a genius by the school teachers and principal, being expected to go places, now though, YOU’RE going places, achieving something extraordinary even if it’s for me.

-Flattering, very flattering. Ya know, I could let you go on with this discourse of yours to get more compliments but I’m just being there for you like the old times. It’s you being the leader that led us this far, I mean, a month to repair all the portal? I couldn’t get crap done even if I have a whole year, so don’t sell yourself short, Sixer. I won’t become a hero. BOTH will. No matter if you’re here in the basement or in another planet.

-Since when you’ve grown that much? -Ford questioned fondly.

-Meh, adulthood doesn’t suck as much as I thought. So, it’s settled then? You’ll stay here keeping an eye on the hyperdrome so it doesn’t blow up or anything while I’m looking for Fiddleford to bring him back?

-I still think this is a bad idea and an unfair amount of bad luck, but by being hesitant we’ll go nowhere. However, I’ll have to build a heat controlled specialized for the hyperdrive -not hyperdrome- to prevent any unexpected complications when and while the portal is open. Most importantly, I will expect from you a really professional job and by that, I mean that not only Fiddleford will be back but also you.

-I’ll take that as yes. High six? -Stan raised his right hand confidently, waiting for his brother’s response. After some time thinking, Ford smiled and clapped his left hand with his twin’s.

-High six.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

With September, Wednesday 4th, the third week began with new tasks for both twins, courtesy of Ford. The first one was going to the forest for the important gathering: magical-located income and brain-enhancers, although the idea of money was Stan’s despite the place where it should be gained, the brain-enhancing thing came from Sixer which needed a good explanation.

According to Pointdexter and one of his journals, there was a rare type of mushroom growing in the deepest zones of Gravity Fall’s forest whose properties increased the consumer’s intellect exponentially, an indispensable upgrade to ensure the success of the rescue mission. Stan, though willing as always to help his brother, by just hearing ‘weird mushroom’ and ‘consumption’ made one conclusion.

-Are you going to drug yourself to become smarter?

Ford froze momentarily and glared at his twin, insulted at the idea of hearing one of his findings being reduced as a mere drug.

-No! This isn’t like any of those substances that created toxic addiction nor the ones used commonly in ancient and modern medicine.

-It’s a rare mushroom that can twist your brain. I’ve been dealing with drug dealers and criminals who made dark-drug business in jail, Sixer, and I know what that is when I see or hear about it. Cocaine, heroin, marijuana. Though magical ones are a new addition it gives me a bad vide.

-If consumed in large quantities, yes. But I made an exact estimation of how much is responsible to consume so I don’t—

-Pretend to be Einstein and tell the whole world you faked your death for some experiment too deep and complicated for the masses to understand? -joked Lee while elbowing his twin teasingly.

-One, that’s indignantly disrespectful towards one of the most brilliant minds of the world who has contributed immensely in the scientific department. Second, I would rather find a way to become one of the great scientists in history than take someone’s credit. Finally, who in their right mind would believe that Einstein faked his own death to prove a theory right?

-Who knows. People can be exceptionally observant or disturbingly dumb if you ask me.

Ford mused about that comment and hated to admit it but the only ones gullible enough to buy that Einstein-is-still-alive scam would be Gravity Falls’ townsfolk. Two hours passed and the Stan twins finally found the ingredient to enhance the intelligence. Pointdexter stored it carefully in his bag pack, took his journal #1 and looked for certain pages.

-Now, as you mentioned before, Stanley, money will be highly important to pay for Fiddleford’s recovery but also to hire a lawyer if we want to put Filbrick in jail for once and for all. Groceries are on the list too, especially coffee. All the coffee we need to stay awake until the portal is complete.

-And our weapons and the safety measures.

-All of that. So, to the clearing of the unicorns! -Ford pointed to the northeast walking resolutely, his surprised twin following him from behind. Many questions came to Lee’s head after hearing the word ‘unicorns’, like Ford really expected some kind of treasure from them? Did they exist? Obviously, they should. Gnomes, alien ships, manotaurs, it would be stupid to assume that unicorns were out of the list of weird creatures that truly exist. Stan has seen so much magic or sciency shenanigans to believe otherwise.

_Though the last thing I expect from those girly horses is a scam if we ask them for a favor_ , Lee thought and snorted.

-How you know they have money, Pointdexter? They’re unicorns not bank’s agents.

-Rumors from the other supernatural creatures of the forest. It seems they’re quite popular.

-More news at eleven, genius. Since fairytales and cartoons’ existence, unicorns became popular.

-The only difference between TV unicorns and the ones we are going to see is that the second ones are…unbearable, to say the least.

-A bunch of jerks -blurted Lee.

-Demanding, frustrating, infuriating! It will be quite a challenge to convince them to help by giving us their treasure. According to my journal #1, only the purest of the heart can be in front of them and receive their blessing -then Stanley laughed. Loudly.

Purest of heart? HA! What a great joke! What those cartoonish horses are playing at? Being the judgmental priest in a church or something? Only idiots would buy that.

-What’s so funny? Ford found himself feeling annoyed at the laughter. It sounded mocking and offensive.

-Sorry, sorry, but… -Lee cleaned his eyes from the tears- You have to admit it, Pointdexter, that’s the stupidest scam of all. No one knows a single person that is 100% pure. Also, how do you know unicorns only need to be in front of the purest of heart? How can they know?

-Because they can see if someone’s heart is pure or tainted by sin.

-Ford, we’re talking about unicorns, not God.

-Yeah, I know. And before you say this sounds ridiculous and that we should find another way to get the money needed, I’ll tell you that they’ve shown me their power when I talked to them.

Stanley didn’t say anything else, not because he wasn’t in a mood for an argument but more due to planning how to demonstrate to his dense brother the scam of those creatures. If there was a talent -or sort of talent- he has sharpened in his years on the streets is how to recognize a con artist no matter if he hasn’t met him yet.

After 1 and a half hour of walking from one direction to another (seriously, why magical places are that far from the house? It’s not that anyone is going on a fairytale hunt anyway!), the twins stopped in front of a tree-free zone where a bunch of huge, pointy rocks was. Ford read a page of his journal and started chanting some weird words. The ground suddenly began shaking, like an unwelcome earthquake. In front of the brothers, the scenery changed. Colossal murals of rock and crystal emerged from the ground; a big, rustic wooden door between the rocky walls was also present. Then, the tremors stopped much to Stan’s relief. His fear of heights was bad enough for him to have tremophobia.

-Who is it that dares to disturb the sacred land of the unicorns? -a sort of female, high-pitched voice asked.

-We’re here to ask for your help, Celestabellebethabelle -Stan snorted a bit which earned him a glare from Sixer. Lee only shrugged. Hey, it’s not his fault unicorns had such funny, silly names-. It won’t take that long.

A moment of tense silence and then…

-Fine. You can enter, but take off your shoes first.

Ford signaled his twin to do what Celestabelle had said which, if someone asked him, he’d opined it was a senseless demand. It’s not that they were in a palace. Both brothers entered the unicorn land barefoot. Stan took a good look of the place: colorful (too much for his tastes), there was a big waterfall (how the hell did THAT appeared?), tons of flowers, fairies and even some bunnies jumping (typical of a fairytale-based place). Resuming: nothing new.

What do you want, Stanford Pines? -a light blue, puppy-eyed, rainbow-haired unicorn showed itself and despite no opening its mouth, its horn shined with every word pronounced.

-I know you’ve told me before that I’m not pure of heart; however, this is an emergency. A friend of mine will need special help to recover from deeply traumatic events, but my income won’t be enough to get him the best specialists. For that reason, I -alongside my brother, Stanley- am asking you respectfully to give us some of your treasures. It doesn’t have to be all of them, just enough for—

-Weeeeeee!!!! -the unicorn neighed, scandalized- Who the heck told you about our treasures?!

-Look at that! So, you really have treasures!

-Stanley! -Ford scolded him- I heard some rumors from the creatures of the forest, the supernatural ones. There was this day Multibear told me about—

-Oh, so it was HIM, right? Ugh! That goddamn, furry piece of--! Nevermind, you know the rules, Stanford Pines. No pure of heart, no favors asking. Now get out.

-Celestabelle, my research assistant, Fiddleford, he is hurting and I have to help him. Isn’t that a reason pure enough for an exception?

-Oh suuuuure. You want to use someone’s pain, turn it into a problem to fix and rubbing that to my face, don’t you?

-He wants to help a friend. He has been working nonstop for that friend, and if you really have that see-through-your-heart power to label people pure or tainted -which I doubt totally- then the last thing you could do is give my brother a hand. Besides, it’s not that you’re God to know who has been a good boy or not -Stan intervened, having caught the manipulative crap of the creature to not lend a hand to Ford.

Pointdexter meanwhile was in shock and afraid too of the reactions of Celestabelle after Stan’s intervention. Though, he didn’t have to wait for said reactions because the unicorn snapped.

-How dare you treat me like I’m some kind of scam! I see what this is all about, some pitiful, sad human is jealous he will never understand how incredible my power is and tries to put me in his own level.

-Really? Do you tell that to every human who asks some favor? Because if that’s your only way to prevent more unwanted visits then it’s not working and guess what, missy. We. Are. Not. Leaving. We’ll stay here until you borrow us some of your treasures. I mean, why do you need them anyway? It’s not that you unicorns have a magical bank or something. So -Stan approached C-beth with a deadly serious face, his slowness more threatening than anything-, you’d better stop playing with this scam of yours and collaborate ‘cause we don’t have time to lose or else.

-Or else what? -C-beth unconsciously made a step back.

-Do ya wanna know? Let’s see, there are two options that can make you change your mind: one, giving you the heck of a beating with a heckuva knuckle sandwich using my brass knuckles. Two, telling every supernatural creature how much of a liar you are. Who knows if you have just scammed humans, maybe there are other victims in the vicinity. And don’t think for a second that I cannot show them that you are a sham, because I have my ways. Also, you don’t want to wake up to find yourself surrounded by an angry mob, do you?

This was the top of the insult, Celestabelle thought angrily, outraged. What was worse was that Stanford’s twin no only looked like he was perceptive enough to see through other’s deception but he indeed WAS. The last thing she wanted to face that moment was some of her obnoxious ‘neighbors’ of the forest who would do anything to get what they wanted from her.

Ugh! Humans! They were always so troublesome, and now Stanford had to bring along one that wasn’t gullible. Gullible humans were easy to impress and manipulate; perceptive ones, though, she’d rather never meet them at all. At least they didn’t ask for her hair because that would grant them a kick in their butts, but that Stanley human wouldn’t stop until his hands were in one of the chests. Although, the integrity of her face was more important knowing how violent humans were. Uughh!! Fine!

-OK, fine! You win! I’ll give you one, JUST ONE, of the treasure chests we have. If that’s not enough to do whatever you’ve planned, it’s not my problem but don’t come back again! -the light blue unicorn led them to a secret place a bit behind some rocks of the waterfall that was covered by a dense curtain of vegetation. Once removed, the twins’ mouths opened in an O of shock: there were in total 8 chests full of gold coins, jewelry, precious gems, and other expensive artifacts if we talk about being a collector of ancient objects for a museum.

-That’s what I call getting the jackpot! -Stan smiled with stars in his eyes- Let’s just hope none of this is fake.

-I’m not deaf, you know? -complained Celestabelle, annoyed, before Ford could say anything to his brother- Remember, JUST ONE. If I see you taking another chest, I’ll kick you out.

There was no need for more instructions. The stan twins checked what chest was overflowing more with gold and gems, and take that back to the shack satisfied with their success. Stanley, during the trip to the house, was grinning and laughing like a kid that got all the toys on Christmas. He couldn’t believe it! Treasure hunting was a dream of the past for him and Ford, and he accepted it after the two reconciled; however, for both to find treasures in a weirdness-infested forest? That was something new and fantastic! A big change in how their childhood dream was going to be, but he didn’t complain.

-Well, if we make some calculations, the chest’s contents are worth 200,000 dollars! Enough money for both of us and our tasks. Now, we need to buy food, a lot of coffee and save the rest for the most important chores. After that, I’ll make my brain-enhancer potion to start building the heat controller for the hyperdrive. Its effects should last the rest of the third week until the start of the fourth one.

-Don’t forget about our weapons and dismantling the killing droids. Should I call the gnomes for this?

-Within two hours. I need to make a list of the last steps to finish the portal and the safety measures to make sure nothing essential is overlooked. Everything MUST be perfect to ensure Fiddleford’s salvation.

-Would you believe if I told you that I never imagined myself being in another dimension saving someone or helping you saving someone who fell through a multidimensional portal?

-Life is weird and surprising, Stan, there’s no doubt about it. If you ask me, me neither. When I built this portal with Fiddleford’s help, my goal was to prove the Gran Unified Theory of Weirdness to become a legend in the scientific department like many other great minds. Now it will be different, though I hope I can still prove my theory and show everyone--! -Ford stopped his sentence, realizing that he was this close to blurting Bill’s existence out to Stanley. It was conflictive: a part of him felt guilty of not trusting his brother this piece of info despite knowing that Lee didn’t believe in spiritual creatures. No, wait, Bill wasn’t a spiritual creature even when he called himself a muse. On the other hand, Cipher had instructed him to let his triumphant entrance to the portal once it’s opened because that way the world would see why Pointdexter was chosen to change it.

Maybe if he let everything go as Bill specified then Stanley could meet his muse. Though he wondered if his brother would be impressed by the fact that him, Stanford Pines, was the only one elected to find the answers of the universe or if he would be amused at the idea of a cartoonish muse which Ford considered insulting. Bill, beyond his innocent appearance, was a creature of immense knowledge and wisdom, and thanks to him, Ford would not only show to the jerks of his hometown and WCT how wrong they were about him; he’d also save everyone from their ignorance while he brought peace and abundance. And maybe, just maybe, he could convince Fiddleford to join him in the celebrating and help him with his pet project of—

SNAP! SNAP!

-Hello? -Lee didn’t stop snapping his fingers near his twin’s face -Earth to Einstein. Are you still there?

-Sorry, I was daydreaming.

-About you being famous thanks to your portal? ‘Cause I feel there’s a bit more you wanted to say -Ford froze, big mistake. Stanley arched an eyebrow, curious and suspicious.

-It’s better if we let it as a surprise. Trust me. For now, let’s divide the quantity of money we’ll use in our future tasks -So, Sixer wanted to surprise him, uh? Fine then, just this time he would humor him. Though that didn’t mean that strange, negative vibe in his gut was going to disappear.

The rest of the day, the twins spent it in grocery shopping, especially big amounts of coffee, and preparing their weapons, the portal’s upgrades, and the safety measures. Oh! Fuel too! They took one last trip to the spaceship to look for compartments were alien ship gas was stored, accompanied by the manotaurs and gnomes. The last tasks weren’t an issue for Pointdexter thanks to his enhanced logical and analytical abilities due to the special mushroom potion, also the gnomes as a workforce helped a lot. If Ford’s calculations were right, the mission would start nearing the last day of the third week. He smiled more hopeful than ever, finally, things were looking good for him and with Stan’s encouragement, saving McGucket wouldn’t take too much, though he needed to lay out some rules if he wanted to have his assistant and brother alive and in one piece after the rescue.

-Ford! The phone! -Stan yelled from the elevator interrupting his twin’s braining session. He got up and joined his brother to go up.

-Is it Martha or Tate? -if it was any of them, then they would be in trouble.

-I didn’t answer because of that. Besides, whoever they are, they’re really persistent. I thought they were going to give up after 2 or 3 tries but it seems this is important -both grimaced while imagining the things Martha would yell at them, the questions little Tate would let out and how ill-prepared they would be trying to respond or give any sort of explanation.

Finally, in front of the phone that looked more like the mouth of a hellish beast than anything, Ford took initiative and responded:

-Hello? Pines Residence, who is it?

-Until at last ya answer. Don’t ya know it’s unpolite to left elders waiting in the phone, genius? -Pointdexter paled, his lips forming a hateful snarl and his free hand curling into a fist.

_Ford, who?_ Stan asked in a whisper, pretty concerned. Sixer debated in his mind if telling Stan or not, then sighed quickly and said in a low voice ‘Filbrick’. Lee’s body stiffened in shock, why now? What that man wanted to call Stanford?

Ford -despite still having the brain-enhancing effects running through him- was so tempted of letting out every ugly truth he discovered to Filbrick so he knew his son had found out Stan’s abuse as a child. His desire of spitting any and every curse, insult to that excuse of a father he had was so difficult to overcome; however, he controlled his anger. Pointdexter didn’t want to ruin his plan of putting Filbrick in jail, he’d promised himself that second mission would be as successful as the first one. So, with an even though tense voice he spoke:

-Pa, what a surprise that you’ve called.

-It’s sir to ya, no matter if ya’re an adult, Stanford. Besides, the only surprise here is what yer mother one day blabbered about to Sherman.

-What it was exactly? -not that he was interested to know the news if they came from Filbrick, but Ford still pretended some curiosity.

-That ya needed the screwup’s help for something -Pointdexter and Lee were surprised at that statement. Ma told that to Shermie and for some hit of bad luck, Filbrick found out? Well, if Ma and Shermie knew, fine, but now they had to deal with that man asking questions. Also, despite Ford being the one holding the phone to his ear, Stanley could hear perfectly that insult which made him flinch and wallow in frustration. He was a grown man, dammit! He shouldn’t let that monster put him down like always!

Ford observed concernedly his brother’s reaction and launched to the rescue.

-First of all, his name is Stanley, not screwup, and second, if this is because of the science fair ( _or any other stupid reason to belittle him_ ), let’s just know that he and I have talked and apologized to each other. It was an accident not some maliciously elaborated plan to sabotage me.

-Ha! As if -Filbrick mocked-. Seriously, when I heard that both of ya were going to be on talking terms again, I thought ya’d lost your mind. Unless ya have only resorted to that failure as an errand boy which is the least he could do, though I doubt it. Most likely ya changed your mind or he fucked up like always since he was born.

Ford was starting to regret that intelligence-upgrading potion of his hadn’t anger-management effects, because keeping his tongue at check was getting tremendously oppressive with that man.

-Maybe for someone like you, _sir_ -he spat out the last word sarcastically-. But thanks to Stanley’s morale boost and strength, a really important project of mine is nearing its competition, and with it, many lives will be changed for the better. Although I don’t and won’t expect you to understand this point of view due to always overlooking Stan’s potential on purpose.

-Pfft, potential? -Filbrick laughed like hearing the stupidest idea of the world which made Ford tighten his hold on the phone- Don’t make me laugh, Stanford. My memory doesn’t lie when I tell ya that he was a waste of time and space, swallowing all my money and the family’s food which could’ve been used in someone truly successful and worthwhile. Heck, not even in boxing he succeeded, more like he was average. And school? What a disgrace he was at that! Ridding on yer coattails like a parasite. That’s the only things he was good for. Why ya gave him another chance instead of letting him rot is beyond me.

-What is beyond me is how close-minded, selfish and hypocritical you are! -Ford accused, his blood hot, no, boiling like lava- Stanley may not be a genius, get good grades and make mistakes, but unlike you, he knows what are his true priorities and doesn’t back down in front of anything?

-What the hell is that response of yers, Pointdexter?! Have you forgotten he ruined your future?! Ya can’t get soft with scums like him unless you’re sure there’s—

-There’s what exactly? Money, applauses, personal gain? That’s where I’m learning and you won’t, _sir_. I didn’t receive Stanley with open arms. Our reunion was stressful, I was under unhealthy amounts of pressure and he acted in the most mature and understanding way he could despite our falling out. He lent me a hand when I was unapproachable, and since then our teamwork and relationship got better. YOU, on the other hand, had exploited him with the disgusting excuse that he could do something worthwhile as long as he was used to satisfy your greed!

-Since when ya’re so damn protective with that bastard?! Is it because of that project almost complete? Wanna know what will happen if you trust that scum so much? Easy! He’ll fuck everything up again! Ya couldn’t go to places because he was suffocating ya! All that potential of yers last thanks to a miserable leech!

-The same was said by the principal, and this time I will say it whether you believe me or not: both of you are seriously wrong. Stan wasn’t good at academics but have other talents and they could’ve thrived if you egotistical ( _for not saying right now outright abusive_ ) attitude and the principal’s idiocy hadn’t gotten in his way. The only future ruined here was Stanley’s because of you two. Oh! I almost forget, from now on, Stan will be my partner in many other important projects, and once the rewards come, HE will be the one who will celebrate with me, because as far as I’m concerned, Stan earned it. He gained back my trust and you lost.

Lee was open-jawed at Ford’s defense. No one in his life had defended him of Filbrick’s insults and abuse to the point of him believing wholeheartedly that he was a walking failure with nothing to prove. Now, however, his twin was standing up for him as he did in their childhood, protecting Sixer from jerks like Crampelter. It was surreal and warmth seeing his brother and best friend defending him from the biggest bully of his life, the one who seemed to be impossible to be put in his place.

-Ya’re out of yer fucking mind!! -shouted Filbrick like accusing Ford of insulting him- Ya were smarter when ya realized that bug was nothing but trouble for ya! Didn’t want anything to do with him after the science fair, and now ya plan to share yer success with that screwup?! He couldn’t even make a fortune as I told him to do, every time something good happens he has to fucking ruin it! Holding yer back, riding on yer coattails like a leech, being less than average, just a mutt that burdened our home. Ya think he will redeem himself if ya’re nice to him? News flash, he won’t! Get rid of him immediately!! Whether he dies in a ditch, is killed by someone or just disappears, it’ll be the first good thing he will have done in his useless life.  Dead is the only way to compensate us for being born!

-To hell, if you think I’m going to do that! My brother has proven to be more man, braver and more selfless that you will never be!

-What that worthless fucker knows about being a man?!!

-Obviously, thousands of times more than you, YOU BASTARD!!! -and with that shouted, Ford hung up violently. Sighing heavily, he massaged his temples. Anger and resentment, indignation and ecstasy for yelling at that putrid mad ran through his mind and body.

After some minutes of tense silence, Stan put his left hand on his twin’s shoulder and smiled at him gratefully. Pointdexter also smiled feeling like he had finally repaid Lee for protecting him from the school bullies all those years.

-There it is. I gave him a well-deserved piece of my mind. Before going to sleep though, I need to take some photographs of the scars of your back, the central ones. Also, your oral and written testimony of the night Filbrick almost murdered you. Those will be the first proofs to use on the future trial against him.

-This is weird to say but I’m kind of excited to be in a law court after so many times being sent to prison. At least he will be sent to prison not me. I’m excited to see him behind bars once the judge says ‘Guilty!’. Imagine his face. It’ll be priceless!

-That will be the best reward you deserved all this time. Now, come on. We have a lot to do -Ford led his brother to his bedroom where the camera, the tape recorder and some notebooks he used in his research were stored.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

None of the twins slept a single second or distracted themselves with anything else in the remainder of the week. Many cups of coffee were prepared, consumed, prepared again and consumed again, although shared too because the gnomes, despite being energetic, weren’t night creatures after all.

Sixer has finished the safety measures that consisted of 2 of the 4 security droids turned in reprogrammed and semi-spherical laser cannons. Each one placed in front of the portal, at each side of the huge machine. From the other two robots, the scientist had built laser guns the size of heavy rifles, each one with a monster/danger radar as an upgrade. The portal though was the only thing that seemed to give more than a headache to everyone, especially Ford. And he was so close! However, he needed to be careful this time. Despite knowing that Fiddleford was alive thanks to Bill’s unexpected news (he kind of debated with himself if still keeping that a secret from Stan was still a good idea) and his brother’s reassurances that he would be alright in whatever dimension McGucket was trapped in, Sixer couldn’t allow himself a single detail being ignored. He let down Bill and Fiddleford was in danger because of his carelessness.

If there was something great minds like Einstein or Tesla would never forgive is not learning from past mistakes, and Stanford could never accept being like them if his slipups hurt someone again.

For that reason, he spent some mornings and evenings holed up in the basement reprogramming the portal. Thank God, the effects of his potion were still running because that task was the most meticulous and difficult of all to the point of requiring absolute silence to not overlook anything. Stanley, despite worrying that his brother could collapse of exhaustion, understood the gravity of the situation and silently left Ford’s food in a place where he could eat and brainstorm comfortably.

Thankfully, those long hours of work paid off. Ford had created a mechanism in the portal’s command that could control how narrow or wide the opening of the entryway to other universes had to be once the machine was turned on. That way nothing dangerous from the other side would try to enter and attack unexpectedly before Stan entered the portal.

It was a very good plan and after explaining his brother everything about it and the time limit to prevent the hyperdrive of exploding, both twins reunited with the gnome clan and the manotaurs. It was Thursday 8th, 20:00 o’clock, the penultimate day of the 3rd week. Despite the urgency to save Fiddleford, Stan managed to convince Ford to sleep before starting the most important step of the mission because according to him ‘working with bags in your eyes bigger than the craters of the moon was worse than driving blindfolded’, and though Sixer protested and argued endlessly, he accepted that Lee was right. His brain wouldn’t function properly and Ford wasn’t going to let his stubbornness make him slip up. Not again.

-Everyone! -Ford said to the creatures in front of the porch of his house- The portal is finally complete!! -the manotaurs roared to show their happiness at their success, the gnomes applauded- It was a hard and long journey but be assured that it will pay off. Fiddleford will be saved and not only thanks to me but to all of you. My brother and I are eternally and deeply grateful for your collaboration. Fiddleford will be too once this mess is over. Thank you. Thank you all!

Gnomes and manotaurs cheered happily and wished the brothers luck before returning to the forest.

-Stanley -Ford stopped his twin before they went to sleep- I know this will sound sappy, but you deserve it more than anyone: thank you for being there for me- Pointdexter smiled, the gesture reaching his eyes.

-Hey, wherever we go, we’ll go together. That’s what family is for. And thank you, you know, for defending me from Filbrick. High six?

-High six -the Stan twins high-fived -or should it be high-sixed?- and laughed feeling like children again. Only them against the world. Both bid each other farewell and prepared to sleep. Anxiety and confidence flowing through their veins even when they closed their eyes. Tomorrow would be THE day.


	9. Last minute notice

To everyone, sorry if it is taking me so much time to update a new chapter. Due to a writer block and especially some college issues I need to take care of, there will be hiatus for chapter 9. However, the good news is that I have been advancing a bit of the chapter, so once I have finished with my college things, I will complete and post it. For now, I hope you can wait a bit more and thanks for the comments and kudos. They encourage me to do better.


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